Business as Usual
by IrvingZissman
Summary: Weiss heads back home to give a speech at the anniversary of the SDC and she brings Ruby with her. However, she tries to keep her new relationship with Ruby a secret from Winter and Jacques, as she has a very specific plan on when to tell them. Of course, nothing goes according to plan, right?
1. Sneaky Time, Night Time

[ **Oh...hi, Mark.**

 **It's, uh, been a while hasn't it? Over 10+ years, I think? Yeah...good times, goooooooood times.**

 **But, as you can see, I'm back in the FanFiction game, but no longer am I Teen Titans exclusive. Nope, I'M EXPANDING, BIATCHES!**

 **This is actually just a short drabble/writing exercise to get back into the swing of things. It's part of a much larger (slightly AU-ish) story I have in mind. For some background, in this scenario, Ruby and Weiss have been a couple for about a month now (White Rose 4 Lyfe) and though they are public at the Academy, Weiss has yet to break it to her family. When the Schnee Dust Company hosts a major gala to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Weiss is invited to speak and to bring a +1. Of course, she brings Ruby, but puts her under strict orders to not let the relationship out of the bag just yet. She wants to tell Winter first and then her father. (Sorry Whitley, you got Infinity Stone-d out of this world).**

 **We pick up at the first night at Schnee Manor, with Weiss back in her old bedroom and Ruby in the guest room down the hall.** ]

Ruby Rose could not sleep. She tossed, she turned, she tried counting sheep, but nothing was working. This whole thing didn't feel right. The bed was too large and too fluffy and most importantly, it lacked Weiss. Sure, the mattress was exceedingly plush, but it lacked that firmness the beds back at the Academy had and she hated sleeping alone after everything the past month had offered her.

Still, Weiss had promised that before the weekend was over, she would tell Winter and then the two of them would tell Jacques together. Then Ruby could be with her Snowflake.

The large grandfather clock in her room ticked and tocked in the inky black night, as Ruby lay wide awake. With a dejected sigh, she reached over to the nightstand to grab her Scroll and sent a text to Yang.

 **RlyRlyKoolKid:** _u up?_

No response.

"Figures," she said. "She's probably passed out or at some weird club getting into a fight."

She swung over to the side of her bed, wiggling her feet a bit as she debated on what to next. She knew what she _wanted_ to do, but the question was, would it be the _right_ thing to do?

"Aw heck it!" she said to herself. "She's my Snowflake and I'm not gonna let some creepy old house tell me what to do!"

Tiptoeing out of her room, she carefully made her way down the hallway, putting one foot in front of the other as to not set off any creaking boards. The walls were higher than anything Ruby had ever seen, every inch decorated with the painted, unsmiling faces of Schnee ancestors. Their eyes seemed to follow Ruby wherever she went, but she swore that was just her nerves. Finally, she came to Weiss' room and gently knocked on the huge oak door.

"Pssttt! Weiss! Are you up? Weiissssssss! It's me, Rub-"

She never got the chance to finish before Weiss yanked her into the room and locked the door.

"What are you doing here?!" Weiss angry-whispered. "The curfew is very strict. Lights out at 10 pm, no exceptions!"

"I couldn't sleep!" Ruby protested. Like Weiss, she was in her PJs, with Ruby's consisting of her usual white flannel PJ pants and a black tank top. No sleep mask this time, as she forgot to pack it. Weiss was in her usual one-piece nightgown, though like Ruby, she seemed to be wide awake and not sleepy in the slightest.

"And you decided to just barge in here? What if Winter saw you?"

"No one saw me!" Ruby protested. "I'm super good at sneaking! I made it all the way here without so much as a peep."

Weiss sighed and massaged her temples, as she was starting to get a stress headache. She had a plan, a perfect plan, actually and if Ruby could just follow it, then everything would be fine in the end. But of course, trying to get Ruby into any kind of logical thought pattern was like trying to squeeze blood from a block of ice.

"Ruby..." she began, taking her team leader's hands in hers. "you know I care about you deeply, ok? And I get it, I really do. I miss you too. Terribly, in fact. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss your snoring."

"I don't snore!" Ruby protested. Weiss just shook her head and continued.

"But like when we fight as a team, we have to follow a game plan, we have to have a plan of attack. If you go running into things all careless and without order, then everything goes sour and someone can get hurt. Do you understand?"

Ruby nodded solemnly, looking somewhat dejected and disappointed.

"What you're saying is, I have to go back to the guest room and pretend I don't want to kiss you, right?"

Weiss felt her heartbreak.

"Look...you can stay here for a bit, ok? But not the entire night. You have to be back in your own bed before sunrise. Trust me, you do not want a Winter Schnee Wakeup Call."

Squealing with delight, Ruby lunged forward and hugged her girlfriend in a massive embrace.

"Yayyyy!" she cheered. "Cuddles with my Snowflake!"

"I told you I detest pet names, Ruby. I'd rather you just call me Weiss."

"Aw, don't be so glum, Snowflake," Ruby said with a grin. "I know just the thing that would cheer you up and turn that frown upside down!"

"And what exactly would that be-hmmpph!" she said, being cut off by a sudden kiss. Ruby's lips pressed against Weiss' and the two lovebirds shared a gentle kiss in the dim moonlight of the bedroom. The kiss was sweet and tasted faintly of strawberries, thanks to Ruby's preferred lip gloss. Weiss leaned into it, her tongue silently asking for entrance and Ruby happily obliged. In was a beautiful moment, tender and cute, and without warning, Weiss' hands slowly snuck up under Ruby's tank top.

"Whoa!" Ruby said, breaking the kiss, her face red enough to stop traffic. Granted, the two had kissed and even 'made out' a couple of times, but nothing like this.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Weiss said. "I didn't mean to come on too fast. I...I just...I don't know, it felt right."

"No, no, no," Ruby said, shaking her head. "That's not it. I don't mind it, I just...I dunno, I didn't think you wanted to go that far yet."

"I do, I just didn't think you did."

"But...I do!"

There was another awkward moment as both girls stood there, waiting for the other to make the next move. Finally, Ruby broke the silence.

"Sooooo is this the part where I'm supposed to get naked?" she asked, half-jokingly. Weiss just chuckled.

"Come here, you dolt," she said teasingly and pulled in her for a passionate kiss.

Now neither of them would be getting any sleep tonight.

Neither girl had much experience with this, with one sex or the other, so the whole experience was a literal 'touch and go' moment. Kisses, nibbles, wandering hands, roaming tongues, probing fingers - they tried whatever they could think of and what they liked they kept doing and what they didn't, they quickly stopped. But when they found a mutual groove, it worked and it worked well. Both girls kissed each other as if they were drowning and needed the other's air to survive as fireworks exploded in their brains and they both super noaved to orgasmic bliss together.

Weiss rolled off Ruby, panting and sweating as both girls laid side by side, holding hands and unable to move.

"Wow..." Ruby finally gasped. "That was incredible."

"Yeah..." Weiss said, her head a cloudy fog. "Though, you should get going. It's getting late."

"Aw, but can't I just stay and cuddle with my Snowflake?" Ruby protested, giving her best puppy dog eyes. Weiss could never resist those silver eyes and quickly found herself defeated.

"Fine, stay. But you have to be out by morning, ok? Promise me."

"I promise, Weiss. I will be out of here by morning!"

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist and pulled herself in close, snuggling her head just under Weiss' armpit.

"Goodnight, my Snowflake.

"Don't call me that. And goodnight, Ruby."

* * *

 **WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP**

Weiss was jolted from her sleep by the sound of someone hammering their fist on her bedroom door.

"WEISS SCHNEE! You will open this door _at once_! You are half an hour late for breakfast and your Eggs Benedict is getting cold!"

It was Winter.

"Oh, crud..." Weiss muttered, rubbing her eyes. Why did she sleep in? That's not like her. Her alarm should have gone off at 8 am like it always does.

" _...no, no, Yang...10 more minutes...promise..._ "

"Oh double crud..."

Ruby was still asleep, completely naked, in bed next to her.

"RUBY!" Weiss hissed through clenched teeth. "Wake up this instant!"

Ruby slowly sat up, smacking her lips and scratching the back of her head. She saw Weiss, still naked, and blushed.

"Hey Snowflake. Did you, uh, sleep good last night?"

"Don't Snowflake me!" Weiss angry whispered again. "Winter is right outside my door and she is angry! We slept in! I thought you set your alarm to go back to your room?!"

"I did!" Ruby protested, grabbing her Scroll. "See, I set the alarm for 1 am, just like you asked."

Weiss took one look at the Scroll and pinched her nose in aggravation. That headache from last night was coming back.

"The alarm was set for 1 _PM_ , Ruby! Not 1 _AM_!"

"Oh..." was all Ruby could say. "Um, well...I could always just Semblance right past her? She'd never notice me."

"And don't you think the sudden cloud of rose petals would be a giveaway?"

"Heh, yeah. I sometimes forget about that, you know? I never see them when I run by and I forget that people have to clean up."

Weiss sighed, as Winter continued to pound on the door. Weiss was starting to get desperate and desperate times called for desperate measures. Hopping out of bed, she quickly threw on an ice blue puffy robe and handed Ruby her PJs, all squished up in a ball.

"Here! Take these and go hide in the closet," she whispered.

"Ha! Now that's appropriate." Ruby said with a giggle.

"Just go!"

"Okay, but Weiss-"

"Go!"

"I know, but Weiss, I-"

"GO!"

"I will, it's just-"

" **GO**!" she said in a hoarse, frustrated whisper and with a heave, pushed Ruby into the closet and slammed the door.

"Ow..." Ruby said from the other side.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked, regretting the hasty decision.

"...yeah," Ruby said, pathetically. "I think an umbrella is poking me in the butt, though."

Weiss sighed one more time, adjusted her hair to look as best as possible, and opened the door to greet Winter.

"Good morning, dear sister. To what do I owe your company?"

Winter was already dressed in full Atlesian Military regalia and her face was set in stone, with piercing blue eyes.

"Spare me the pleasantries, Weiss. Not only are you late, but you aren't even dressed. Have you fallen so far from what I've taught you?"

"Of course not!" Weiss protested, surprised at how well she was keeping it together. "I was simply up late studying and lost track of the time. I was actually on my way now to take a shower."

Winter studied Weiss, saying nothing. Weiss smiled politely, trying to hide the cold panic that was creeping up her spine.

"May I come in and inspect your room?"

"Of course, dear sister. I have nothing to hide." Weiss said, making an exaggerated gesture to welcome her into her room.

Winter stepped in, her hands clasped behind her back and scanned the room from top to bottom. She studied the desk, the dresser, the mirror, glanced at the closet and then turned around to leave.

"Passable. B minus, at best. Your bed needs to be made and your pencils and pens are scattered and disorganized. Hurry and shower and meet us downstairs. And if you see your friend, please tell her to join us as well."

"I shall, Winter. Thank you for all you've done."

Winter was about to walk out when she suddenly stopped in front of Weiss' bed. She paused, her back turned to her sister and spoke calmly.

"Weiss, where do you get your underwear?"

"P-Pardon?" Weiss asked, completely blindsided by the question.

"It's a simple question. Where. Do. You. Get. Your. Underwear."

Weiss stammered a bit, unsure of where Winter was going with this, but figured honesty would be the best policy.

"You know I get all of my clothes from the custom tailors employed by father."

"Indeed. And you know he spares no expense to make you look like the refined woman of class you should hope to be. Which is why I am confused. Of all the finest silk and satin undergarments provided for you, you choose to wear _this_."

The way Winter said ' _this_ ' was dripping with disgust and revulsion. Using the tip of her sword, she held out a pair of black "boy-cut" panties with red trim and a repeating strawberry pattern.

It was Ruby's underwear.

In fact, it was her favorite underwear, so much that she went back to the store and bought six extra pairs of the same design and cut.

"That's Ruby's..." Weiss said, half to herself and half to Winter. Weiss swore she heard a panicked 'eep!' come from the closet.

"Is it now?" Winter queried with an arched eyebrow. "Then can you explain how Ms. Rose's undergarments found their way into your bedroom?"

"It's...it's simple, really." Weiss countered, still keeping her cool. "Ruby obviously packed her undergarments in the wrong suitcase. I will be sure to chastise her for sullying my intimate apparel."

Winter let the panties drop to the floor from her sword tip like she was disposing of a dead raccoon in the trash.

"See that you do. I shall see you shortly."

And with that, she finally left. Weiss wasted no time in locking the door and breathing a sigh of relief.

"You can come out now, Ruby."

Ruby cautiously stepped out of the closet, fully dressed back in her PJs, minus her underwear of course.

"I was trying to tell you, Weiss, that I still needed my underwear."

Weiss sighed and plopped down on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I should have double checked for your panties."

"Ugh, don't say that word. I hate that word." Ruby said, wrinkling her nose.

"What, panties?" Weiss asked.

"YES! Ohmygods, I hate that word. It's so...creepy. Like something Cardin would say if he was hitting on Velvet."

Weiss laughed at this, an honest, deep laugh that let the stress roll off her shoulders.

"Hey, it's not funny! I hate that word. When I was a little girl, Yang used to chase me around the house with a pair of her underwear saying she was the Panty Demon."

Now Weiss was laughing even harder, getting Ruby flushed and irritated.

"Stop laughing!" she said, adorably stomping her bare foot.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Weiss said, with a snort. "At least my sister is gone," she added, changing the subject to avoid any future embarrassment for Ruby.

"I don't get her," Ruby said, stuffing her underwear in her pocket. " _Oh, good evening m'lord! My name is Winter Schnee and I am very rich and royal! I poop diamonds and sweat perfume! Tally ho and stock markets and culture and tea!_ " she said, in a mock sing-song British accent.

"Ruby, my sister doesn't sound like that."

" _Oh, but I do, dear sister! Why it makes me so mad that you're not perfect and that you do not cry crystal tears and eat gold for dinner and emeralds for lunch! Oh ho ho ho! Horses and ponies!_ "

"Ruby..."

" _My, the other day, as I was counting my bullets and gold, I saw a poor person and laughed at them for thirty minutes. Tee hee ha ha and such, you know!_ "

"RUBY!"

"Yes, Weiss?" Ruby said blinking, pulled from the one-woman, off-Broadway show of mocking Winter.

"Just shut up and kiss me."


	2. Six Gun Rose

[ **Okay, so I lied. This was only supposed to be a one-shot, but the general response has been so good and THE URGE to write fanfiction has hit me so hard that I decided to turn this into a series. ENJOY!** ]

Ruby had never had Eggs Benedict before and she was sorely regretting having missed out on this for so long, even if her dish was cold. Back at the Academy, breakfast was always a rush to who could get to the cereal boxes first. If Nora or Jaune managed to get their hands on the Pumpkin Pete cereal, it was all over. Once in a blue moon Ren would be kind enough to fry up some bacon or make scrambled eggs, but he spent most of the morning making sure Nora didn't fall into caffeinated shock.

"Riff if delivicious!" Ruby said with a mouthful, finishing up her third helping since she sat down. Klein was more than happy to cook for Weiss' friend, though Winter and Weiss had long since eaten their respective meals.

"Are you finished?" Winter asked, impatiently drumming her gloved hand on the dinner table. She sat next to Weiss, both of them across from Ruby. It made the team leader feel like she was at a job interview to be someone's maid.

"Urp. Yes, yes I am." Ruby said with a satisfied grin. She finished off her third cup of "obscenely sugared" coffee and caught herself before she belched, managing to stifle it into her fist.

"Well, if you're done emitting noxious gasses, I have an eventful day planned for us, Ms. Rose." Winter said , standing up. "Weiss tells me you've never been horseback riding, so I thought I might make a day of this. You might want to bring your weapon, however. We have a team dedicated to keeping the grounds free of Grim, but some do slip through the cracks."

"Oh trust me, my sweetheart never leaves my side," Ruby said, patting Crescent Rose on her hip. "I would never leave something I love behind," she added, smirking at Weiss. The Heiress just blushed and glanced down at her feet.

The horse stable was beyond Ruby's belief. It was literally bigger than her home back on Patch and had multiple floors and an entire crew grooming, walking, feeding and cleaning up after the horses. The smell was pungent, to say the least, and Ruby did her best to tolerate the burning manure vapors that were violating her nose.

"Oh, I can't wait to see Glas!" Weiss said. "It's been so long. I hope she's as beautiful as I remember."

"Rest assured, dear sister, the stable crew has taken the utmost care with your prized mare. She is the shining jewel in the entire kingdom."

Ruby was behind the two, carefully avoiding any random piles that would stain her boots. She had stepped in Zwei's "accidents" enough times to know how hard it is to scrape off your boots, but the idea of it being from a horse? Terrible.

"So, uh, not to be the third wheel here, but I get a horse too, right? Or am I riding with Weiss?" Ruby asked. Winter just smirked.

"I have made appropriate accommodations for you, Ms. Rose. You will not go without a ride."

What Ruby wanted to say was _'Yeah, my ride is your sister! HA_!' but thought better of it, so she just smiled and nodded instead.

Finally the trio made it to the far section of the stables where the best horses were kept. Weiss could barely contain her excitement as the gate opened, and one of the farm hands led out a beautiful white mare. Her hair was like something of a shampoo commercial, Ruby thought. Even Yang would be jealous of that. Her eyes were a dark blue, almost like two diamonds which made sense since this was a Schnee horse.

"Oh Glas, how I missed you!" Weiss said, hugging the animal around its muscular neck. "It's been too long, hasn't it, girl? But don't worry, mama is back and we're going to pick up right we left off!"

Winter had retrieved her own horse, another all white mare with deep blue eyes.

 _'Wow, the Schnees really stick to their brand..._ ' Ruby thought.

"And this beautiful creature is my horse, Blanc," Winter said proudly. Just like it's owner, Blanc had a very determined, fierce look with its eyes seemingly looking past Ruby as if she wasn't worthy enough to clean its saddle.

"These are so beautiful..." Ruby said with wonder, running her fingers through Glas' mane. "but where is my horse?"

Winter clapped to summon two farm hands, as they pulled a stubborn mud brown stallion into the barn. It's back was swayed into an almost perfect C, it's ribs poking through like a xylophone and a small cloud of flies buzzing near its end.

"This is Elmer." Winter said, her face stone, but her eyes sparkling with mischievousness. "He is the oldest horse in Atlas, having once belonged to our grandfather. You will find him adequate for your level of skill. I would suggest avoiding his rear haunches, as he has been known to get...sick."

Ruby groaned, trying to make eye contact with Weiss, but the Heiress was too engrossed in brushing Glas' luxurious mane.

"Are you serious?" Ruby finally sputtered out. "He looks like a strong breeze will send him to Pony Heaven!"

Winter wasn't sure if Ruby actually believed in a Pony Heaven, but decided it wasn't worth finding out.

"I can assure you he is stronger than he looks. Do not be deceived by his appearance. "

"... _don't be deceived by his appearance_..." Ruby muttered mockingly under her breath. She really, really did not want to ride this walking bag of disease and bones, but she reminded herself she was doing this for Weiss. Besides, Weiss is so going to owe her so many naked cuddles after this. So many.

"Follow the dirt path, Ms. Rose, and you will come full circle back to the barn. Once all of us have returned, we will enjoy dinner with Father."

Both of the Schnee girls expertly hoisted themselves on their horses and with a "YAH!" they sped off into the distance, leaving Ruby on Elmer who was stubbornly refusing to move. She shook the reigns, pushed her heels into the horse's side and it refused to so much as lift a hoof.

"C'mon!" Ruby whined, "move! Do something!"

Elmer just snorted and laid down on all bent legs, nipping at some flies that were buzzing near its head. Ruby could hear the farmhands laughing at her and it was starting to make her blood boil. She hopped off the horse angrily and stood right in its face, which was easy now since it was laying down.

"Listen, pal! I've fought monsters and Grim ten times your size and never even flinched! So if you think you're gonna boss me around, than you're stupider than a Carousel horse! So let's get this over with so I can snuggle with my Snowflake and you can go back to taking huge poops and having these guys clean them up. Cool? Cool!" she said, before hopping back on the horse and trying to jostle it to life again. And once more, it just snorted, farted and refused to move.

"STUPID HORSE!" Ruby yelled. "So stupid, stupid, **STUPID**!" Still fuming, she hopped off the senile beast and began to walk the path her own. "Heck this, I'm just going to walk on foot. It's gotta be faster than dealing with you, Elmer!"

But as Ruby began to walk away, Elmer slowly stood up and began to follow her, leaving the diminutive brunette confused.

"Now you want to follow me!?" she asked incredulously, but Elmer ignored her and started to nuzzle inside her hooded cloak towards one of her inner pockets. "Whoa, first date! FIRST DATE!" she protested, but the horse was not interested in her, but rather what Ruby had stored inside her pockets for the long journey - double chocolate chip cookies. "Oh, so you won't listen to me, but you'll listen to the cookies, eh? ...Elmer, I think we can make this work, buddy."

* * *

The two Schnee sisters rode side by side, their horses keeping up a perfect trot. Weiss kept glancing over her shoulder hoping to see Ruby taking up the rear, but instead saw nothing but dust and hoof prints. She would do this every ten minutes or so and look disappointed every time.

"Are you sure she's going to be ok? She's never rode a horse before..." Weiss said. Winter just looked straight ahead, her eyes laser-focused on the path as it twisted and turned through the country side.

"I am positive. Ms. Rose is quite resourceful. If anyone can ride Elmer, it would be her."

"I hope..." Weiss said, her voice creeping with worry. "I was just hoping she would be here by now."

"You miss her, don't you?" Winter asked. The bluntness of the question shouldn't have caught Weiss off guard, as this is her sister, but it still was a bit of a jolt.

"Well, yes. She can be a bit...challenging at times, but she is still one of my best friends."

"Just best friends?"

Weiss swallowed hard and kept her eyes now focused ahead.

"I don't know what you're implying, dear sister."

Winter shook her head and sighed in disappointment.

"Weiss, when I first signed up for the Atlesian Military. one of the first things they teach you is how to read someone's face. It comes in handy during a battle, so you can anticipate your opponent's next move or figure out where their mindset is at. When I first arrived at Beacon, shortly before I dueled with that lecherous drunk Qrow, I did my best to read Ruby's face, focusing on her eyes. I could see in them how much she admired you, her constant glances and smiles in your direction. There was something there, but I don't think she realized it yet."

Weiss felt her cheeks flush. This entire time she thought she had been so good at keeping this a secret and yet Winter knew before she did!

"Fast forward to her arrival at the Manor and I could see how in love with you she is. Her face glows whenever you're around and when you were late to arrive at breakfast, I had to inspect the bedroom to confirm my suspicions."

Now Weiss felt like she wanted to pass out and let Glas trample her to death.

"So, y-you know about last night?" she asked quietly.

"I had my suspicions, but Ms. Rose's undergarments on the floor combined with the heavy aroma of sweat and feminine arousal in the air let me know my hunch was correct. You have a girlfriend."

"Please don't tell Father yet! I...I want to do it together, me and you. He can't get mad if we're both in favor of it. I mean, you _are_ in favor of it, right?" Weiss asked. Winter halted her horse and spun it around so she was facing her sister.

"I admit, Ruby isn't exactly who I would have picked for you. I would have preferred a partner with a higher pedigree."

"You make her sound like cattle, Winter," Weiss said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Point taken. Allow me to rephrase - I would have picked a partner for you of a more... _noble family_. However, I can see she takes good care of you and vice versa, so if you're asking if you have my blessing, then yes, Weiss. I approve of you and Ruby."

"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Weiss said, tears of joy trickling down her face. "Can I, I mean, _MAY I_ have her sleeping in my room now?"

Winter smirked and said nothing, making Weiss' cheeks get hot from embarrassment.

"I mean, just to cuddle with. I promise no-" she said, but Winter cut off with a raised hand.

"What goes on in the privacy of your bedroom is no business of mine. Do or don't do what you feel is necessary."

"Thank you, Winter. This...this really means a lot to me."

* * *

By the time the sisters arrived at the barn, the sun was starting to set and it was time for dinner. Weiss hopped off Glas, kissed the equine's forehead and brushed some of the trail dust off her combat skit. She looked around for any sign of Elmer or Ruby, but there was nothing.

"Has my friend arrived back yet?" she asked a nearby stable boy. He shrugged and then shook his head.

"Sorry, Madame Weiss. No sign of her."

"I'm worried now..." Weiss said to Winter. "I knew giving her Elmer was a bad idea."

But just as Weiss was about to get back on her horse and speed off into the woods to find her beloved Ruby, she heard a loud "WOOOO HOO! GET ALONG LITTLE PONY!" come from the trail. Running out, her jaw dropped at the sheer spectacle of what she was witnessing. Ruby had shoved several cookies on the tip of Crescent Rose and was using it as a lure to motivate Elmer to walk the path.

"Everyone make way for the roughest cowgirl this side of the Academy! Red Dead Ruby! Or, uh, Six Gun Rose? No, no...maybe Hopalong Ruby? No, no, no. I like Six Gun Rose better. SIX GUN ROSE IS IN TOWN TO ROB YOUR COOKIES! LOCK YOUR DOORS, HIDE YOUR BAKED GOODS, SHE'S A WILD ONE, FOLKS!" Ruby yelled while laughing, whooping and hollering like something out of an old western flick.

Weiss started to laugh at this crazy ensemble, relieved and over-joyed to see her girlfriend had made the trail back in one piece.

"She's a special girl, Weiss," Winter said, resting a gloved hand on her sister's shoulder. "Treasure her, because something like this comes once in a lifetime."


	3. Prelude to Disaster

**[In case anyone was wondering, there's a reason why I haven't mentioned Willow Schnee yet. You'll see...]**

* * *

By the time the horses were returned to their stalls, the girls had made it back inside to clean up to get ready for dinner. Weiss, however, was in for a surprise, for when she returned to her room she saw Ruby's suitcase laying on her bed.

"Did you do this?" Weiss asked her team leader suspiciously. Ruby frantically shook her head no and held up her hands in protest.

"I swear on Zwei's life, I did not do this! I promise! I know the rules! Separate bedrooms for the whole trip."

"She's telling the truth," Winter said from behind, stepping into the room. "I had asked Klein to move Ms. Rose's belongings to Weiss' room before we left to go ride horses."

Now Ruby was even more confused, but Weiss was there to offer some clarification.

"She knows, Ruby. About _us_. And she approves." Weiss said.

"You...do?" Ruby asked with wide-eyed amazement. "But...but if you're okay with us, why have you been such a jerk to me since I got here?"

"Ms. Rose, what you call 'being a jerk', I call 'building character'," Winter said with a dismissive scoff.

"Building character?!" Ruby objected. "Building character is putting up with Yang's puns or making the mistake of returning one of Blake's books with a smooshed corner or without the original bookmark! What you're doing is just...it's just... _CRAZY-GO-NUTS_!" she added, waving her arms in the air in frustration.

Winter merely shook her head in disappointment, seemingly frustrated that Ruby was not grasping the reasoning behind her motives.

"Did you know that most relationships end in break up with 1-2 years? I do not wish to subject my sister to such heartache. Whether you realize it or not, one of the duties of the older sibling is to ensure the safety of their younger brother or sister. By putting you in difficult situations, I was ensuring that you were able to overcome adversity, thereby making you a stronger person and more suitable to be my sister's lover."

"Winter..." Weiss said trying to defuse the situation. She could see Ruby's tightly clenched fists and the deep shade of red spreading on her pale cheeks, as righteous anger was starting to storm inside the RWBY team leader. Weiss, unphased, merely held up her hand to silence her sister.

"The bottom line is this - though you may be a bit rough around the edges, you still have my full blessing. I have arranged for you two to share a room together so you may engage in lesbian coitus at your leisure."

"Wow, when you put it like that, it sounds so romantic," Weiss said sarcastically.

"Yeah, makes me want to take a vow of celebrity," Ruby added.

"It's _celibacy_ , Ruby. The word is _celibacy_." Weiss corrected, shaking her head.

"Well, whatever it's called!" Ruby yelled in anger. "I'm just saying that there are like a hundred non-crazy ways she could have seen if I was 'good enough' for you!"

"I'm not here to argue my methods," Winter said coolly. "I actually came to inform you that dinner will be served in _exactly_ one hour, so please plan your time accordingly. Oh and dinner tonight is formal attire, so no _combat skirts_ , please." And with her arms neatly folded behind her back, Winter left the room leaving behind an angry Ruby and an emotionally exhausted Weiss.

"Only my sister could find a way to support my girlfriend and I and yet still leave the room with everyone angry at her," Weiss said, falling backward directly on her bed, arms outstretched in a T-pose. "Somehow having her approval is making me even more stressed about telling Father tonight after dinner."

" _Oh, goo, morn, m'lady! Tis I, Winter Schnee! I fart rainbows and own a pet unicorn. I took a bar of gold to Prom because no boy was classy enough to be my escort for the evening! Oh ho ho ho hee hee! Have you seen my large bank account_?" Ruby said, using her same mocking British voice to parody Winter.

"I still don't understand why you make her sound British," Weiss said, now sitting up and unfastening her riding boots.

"Because...it's funnier that way?" was all Ruby could come up with in response. She sighed and plopped down on a fluffy chair across from Weiss' bed and rubbed her inner thighs. Her normal black tights were not suited for horse riding and her skin felt chaffed and raw. She was about ready to ask Weiss to rub some lotion on them when something Winter said earlier finally clicked in her head. "Wait, did Winter say we had to wear formal wear for dinner tonight? Cause, I, uh, didn't pack any fancy clothes."

"I thought that might be the case, so I took the liberty of packing your Beacon Dance dress," Weiss said, rubbing her sore feet. She'd been out of practice for so long that even the simplest of horse rides were more physically demanding than they should be.

Ruby wrinkled her nose and frowned slightly.

"And the lady stilts too?"

"And the lady stilts too."

"...crud."

* * *

"Ow...ow...ow...ow..." Ruby muttered in frustration and pain down each step of the master staircase. This was literally the second time in her entire life she had even worn 'lady stilts' and she hated it even more now than she did then. Each step felt like torture and she was desperately clinging to Weiss' arm for balance, lest she takes a nose dive down the stairs.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you look very pretty," Weiss said with a smile. Ruby blushed a bit and quickly looked away, not feeling as pretty as she could be with these clumsy death traps strapped to her feet.

"I appreciate that, but we'll see how pretty I look in a full body cast when these things cause me to trip and fall." she groaned.

"Take your time. We'll make a proper lady out of you yet." Weiss said, half-jokingly. Unlike Ruby who avoided anything 'fancy' or 'high class', Weiss had an entire closet full of extravagant dresses and high heels. For tonight, she chose a sleek off-white dress that kept her shoulders bare and hung down to her ankles. The Schnee family snowflake crest was bedazzled on the small of her back in glittering diamonds and it sparkled with light no matter what angle she was walking from. In Ruby's eyes, she was the very personification of beauty.

Finally, they made it to the bottom of the stairs and Ruby let go of her death grip on Weiss' arm. The dining room wasn't too far away, so Ruby was able to slowly trod over to the table without risking too much in terms of intense physical discomfort. The long oak table was set up for dinner, with two plates on one side, one plate on the opposite side and one last plate at the end of the table. Ruby instinctively sat down on the side with just one plate, but Winter was there, still in full military garb, to take her seat.

"I had the seating arrangements changed for tonight. You shall be sitting next to Weiss," she said simply. Ruby smiled and said a polite thank you, but inside she was squealing with joy. It took incredible amounts of self-restraint to not throw off her shoes and zip over to sit next to Weiss, but she wanted to make a good impression and so she sucked it up and waddled to the other side of the table, sitting next to Weiss and giving her knee a happy squeeze. Klein came in with a large bottle of wine and poured three perfect glasses for the girls but left the bottle at the end of the table.

"Master Jacques is running a bit behind, he's tied up in some business," Klein said, almost apologetically. "He sends his regards, but he will be attending shortly."

"Thank you, Klein. That will be all for now." Winter said. Klein gave a polite bow and disappeared back into the kitchen to check on that night's dinner. "Now Weiss, let's see if your time in the academy has sullied your impeccable Schnee palette. Take a sip of this vintage wine and tell me what you taste."

"Of course, dear sister," Weiss said, happy to take the challenge. She was smiling because she knew her palette was much more sophisticated than Winter's, no matter what her older sister would say. She took the glass in her hand and took a dainty sip, swishing the wine in her mouth a bit, before gently swallowing. "I detect...red grapes, late spring. And hints of oak, wait..charred oak. A dash of black pepper and hints of currant."

Winter applauded and took her own sip.

"You were right on the currant, sister. I was curious if you would pick that up or not," she said, before noticing Ruby had yet to touch her wine. In truth, Ruby had never had wine before and didn't want to drink anything that tasted like wood. "Not thirsty, Ms. Rose?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Heh, oh, you know...just letting the flavors, uh, settle. Like you should do with wine." Ruby said nervously. She took a tiny sip and immediately went into coughing fits. It did not taste like grapes at all, but rather some horrible concoction of fruit juice and kerosene. Her throat felt like it was on fire and she was not entirely sure that it wouldn't burn through her stomach like acid. " _It...burns!_ " she wheezed.

Hearing the commotion, Klein ran outside from the kitchen to check on everything, only to see Ruby coughing violently into her clenched fist.

"Oh, my stars and garters! Is Madame Ruby okay?" he asked, his face concerned.

"Coffee!" Weiss yelled. "Five creams, five sugars. Hurry!"

In a flash Klein disappeared into the kitchen, only to return a brief moment later with a delicate porcelain cup filled with only the freshest coffee. Weiss held the cup to Ruby's lips and helped her swallow a few gulps to counter the ill effects of the wine.

"Only five sugars?" Ruby said with a hoarse whisper, trying to regain her focus.

"I want you to enjoy your coffee, but not have you bouncing off the walls like Nora after an espresso," Weiss said with a sigh. She poured the rest of Ruby's wine into her glass and took a big sip. She was going to need more of this to get through the night.

"Yes, well, dinner will be served shortly," Klein said, pouring another cup of coffee for Ruby and leaving the sugar and cream on the table for her. "Tonight's menu is your favorite, Madame Weiss - steak tartare!"

"Oh, Klein!" Weiss said, leaping out of her chair to hug him around the neck. "I've missed your steak tartare so much!"

Ruby had no idea what the 'tartare' meant, but she did like steak, so dinner couldn't be that bad.

"Oh, steak, huh?" she said, her voice mostly back to normal. "I'll have mine medium rare with a baked potato and don't you dare skimp on the butter and sour cream!"

"Ruby, that's not-"

"No, that'll be fine for now," Winter said, cutting Weiss off. "It's obvious Ms. Rose has never had steak tartare before, so tonight will be a learning experience. Won't it, Weiss?" she said with a smile.

Weiss said nothing, but carefully sat back down at her seat and took another sip of wine. Yep, it was going to be one of the nights.

As time went on, Ruby was busy sipping her third cup of coffee when the sound of a man clearing his throat cut through the calm. Jacques Schnee stood at his table, dressed in a fancy suit the color of ice. It must have cost a fortune and his face was stern, commanding and fierce. It was different from Winter's, who had her own commanding features, but she still had a sense of humanity behind her eyes. She was this way because it was her duty, not because it was her normal state of mind. Jacques, on the other hand, seemed to bore holes through Ruby with his pale blue eyes. His hair and mustache were as white as snow, even whiter than either of his daughters' hair.

"Sorry that I am late, but such is business," he said, his voice cold and hard. "Now, shall we begin?"


	4. Disaster

"Good evening to you, Father," Weiss said with a polite bow. "I hope you are having a wonderful evening so far."

Jacques barely nodded in mild approval towards Weiss as he sat down at the far end of the table.

"Good evening as well," Winter said with her own bow. Again, Jacques merely nodded, as if each of his daughters were a random person he was passing on the street. He made no mention of Ruby, instead sized her up with eyes cold enough to cause flurries in August. Ruby panicked, realizing she had yet to address the head of the Schnee household.

"Oh, and a good evening to you. m'lord Your Honor, sir. If it pleases the court, I am, uh, most...delighted to be here, Your Highness." Ruby said with a deep bow. Weiss was facepalming, whereas Winter merely shook her head.

"Hmph. Quaint." Jacques said dryly. "You all may be seated."

"What was that?!" Weiss whispered to Ruby.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby whispered back. "I panicked! I've never talked to a rich person before and I don't know how they like to be addressed."

"Just stay quiet and follow my lead, ok?" Weiss said, her voice hushed. Ruby nodded and gave a thumbs up. Better to let Weiss do all the heavy lifting.

"So, Father, how was business today?" Weiss asked, sipping her wine.

"None of your concern." was all Jacques said. "The inner working of a multi-million lien company is beyond your comprehension. I wouldn't ask you how to _kill things_ , so don't pretend to know how this business works." Ruby had barely known the man for five minutes and already she wanted to introduce him to the business end of Crescent Rose.

"Yes, well...sorry to interfere," Weiss said quietly. The rest of the room sat in uncomfortable silence, neither the Schnee sisters nor Ruby wanting to speak, while Jacques just stared straight ahead, looking impatient and irritated at everything around him as if this dinner was a huge inconvenience for him. Ruby wished she had brought her Scroll with her, so she could at least keep herself occupied by playing Cookie Crush or refresh her Bookface social media feed. Honestly, with how this dinner was going so far, she wouldn't mind a pack of rabid Grimm to burst through the wall. That would at least make things interesting.

The minutes seem to stretch on in torturous agony before Klein finally arrived with dinner. Humming a little tune to himself, he carefully placed a large, covered dish in front of each dinner guest and topped off their wine or in Ruby's case, coffee.

"Dinner is served!" he said proudly. Weiss smiled for the first time since her father arrived, which made Ruby feel a bit better about the evening. Ruby's stomach growled, reminding her that she gave away her cookies to Elmer and hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. She licked her lips, imagining the delicious steak under the reflective dome, the juices dripping off each bite and a piping hot baked potato with absurd amounts of sour cream and cheese. She couldn't wait to dig in. However, when Klein removed her dining tray lid, there was no steak nor potato, but instead what looked like raw dog food covered in pencil shavings and a raw egg.

"Uhh..." Ruby said, wondering if this was another one of Winter's little 'tests' to see if she was 'worthy' enough to date Weiss. But, much to her surprise, the Schnees were happily digging into their food, with Weiss making the same sounds of approval that Ruby had her making the night before!

"Delicious!" Weiss said, delicately dabbing her face with a pure white napkin. "My compliments to the chef," she added with a smirk. Klein laughed and patted her on the shoulder.

"Heh, I'll be sure to pass that on to him," he said. "I'm just happy to be cooking for you again. Now if you'll pardon me, I must retire back to the kitchen to start preparing dessert." He bowed briefly to Jacques, who gave him a casual hand wave of dismissal and soon the butler disappeared behind the kitchen doors just behind Winter.

"PSST! Weissssss!" Ruby whispered again, gently poking her in the thigh.

"What?!" Weiss angry whispered, not making eye contact with her girlfriend to avoid arousing her father's suspicion.

"You never told me that rich people eat dog food!" Ruby said with an extreme hush in her voice. "I thought steak tartar was, you know, _STEAK_! This looks like something we fed Zwei when he was having tummy troubles." Weiss nearly choked on her food, quickly having to wash down a chunk of raw beef with a sip of wine.

"Is something wrong, daughter?" Jacques said, staring daggers at both Ruby and Weiss. Weiss cleared her throat so she could speak and shook her head.

"N-no, Father. Everything is fine. I was just...eating too fast." she said with a phony smile.

"Remember your manners, daughter," he said coolly. "You are a Schnee in a Schnee household. This is not some heathen backyard barbecue."

"Yes, Father. Thank you for reminding me, I will do better next time." Weiss said quietly, slapping Ruby on her knee as a non-verbal sign to stop talking. The RWBY Team Leader winced slightly and went back to poking her food with her fork, hoping there might be something edible on this plate.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Rose?" Jacques said, shoving another forkful of raw meat and onion into his mouth. Ruby fought her gag reflex.

"Oh, uh, nothing is wrong, Your Majesty Highness," she said, flashing a plastic smile.

"Is that so? I ask because you haven't touched your food, despite the great effort taken to prepare this for you."

"No, no, no, Your Majesticness, sir. I...I was just letting the meat settle. Don't want to eat unsettled meat, you know? Like they always say, 'Settle the meat for a good dinner, settle the meat if you're a winner.'"

Jacques didn't respond, just continued to glare at her with eyes like two cold and deadly glaciers. He took another bite of his dinner, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and leaned towards Ruby.

"Well, it's been nearly ten minutes now since dinner was served, so I would like to think that your meat has 'settled' enough. I would strongly suggest you begin to partake of this meal, lest you want me to think of you as a _rude house guest_." Ruby thought that last part came out a bit more threatening that it needed to be, but she figured that was just her nerves talking.

"Oh, perish the thought, my Majestic Lord, sir," Ruby said, still flashing that fake smile that was hiding the raging ball of anxiety that was building inside of her. Weiss gave her a sympathetic look and squeezed her knee as a sign of support. Ruby took a deep breath and cut off a small piece of raw meat and onion and poked it with her fork. _'I'm doing this for Snowflake..._ ' she thought to herself, exhaled deeply and quickly shoved the meat into her mouth and swallowed before she could taste it. It was horrible. She could feel it slide down her throat every step of the way, like a greasy worm wiggling its way down to lay eggs in your stomach or something just as terrible. And the spices burned the back of her throat, sending her into hysterical coughing fits.

She took a swig of coffee to wash it down and grimaced. This was not what she had in mind at all and she was fairly confident she had just embarrassed Weiss in front of her family to the point where she may have blown it for good.

"So...sorry..." she wheezed between coughs. Weiss was rubbing her temples, a sure sign of her stress headache and Jacques seemed indifferent to the whole spectacle.

"You can lead a horse to water..." he muttered. "Now Weiss, I understand you had something you wished to tell me?"

Weiss' eyes went wide and she dropped her fork on her plate in shock. This wasn't part of the plan! She had wanted to tell Father about her relationship with Ruby _after_ dessert when he would be his most relaxed and especially after he had a few glasses of brandy in him.

"Well, yes, I do, Father, but why discuss personal business at the dinner table? Let's have dessert first, " she said, trying to remain calm.

"I think that is a splendid idea," Winter added, backing her sister up. Jacques, however, was not swayed.

"Nonsense. If it's important to you than it's important to me. Now, let's hear it." he said, putting his fork and knife down on his plate. Weiss shot Ruby a panicked glance, Ruby shrugged as she wasn't expecting this either. Weiss closed her eyes to steady her nerves and stood up, clearing her throat before she spoke.

"Father, as you know, I am no longer a little girl. In fact, I am a young adult and a Huntress and because of this, I should be able to make my own decisions in life. So, um, therefore there must come a time in any young woman's life where a decision must be made regarding, uh, her future. And indeed, my future is q-quickly happening-" Weiss said. She had started off her usual cool and composed self, but the more she went on, the more shaken and upset she seemed to become. This wasn't like her, Ruby thought. Weiss always keeps it together. "-just like my grandfather made the decision to open the first dust mine, I too must make a life-changing decision and that is...I mean, the two don't exactly compare mind you, but if you look at a deeper level-"

"I'm dating your daughter." Ruby interrupted. She didn't mean to say it so bluntly, but she couldn't stand to see Weiss slowly drown like that. Winter's mouth went slack and Weiss merely stared at Ruby, her face a canvas of shock and surprise.

"... _what_?" Jacques said quietly.

"I know I'm not the kind of person you probably wanted for your daughter, I get that. But...I dunno, I just love her! She's awesome! She makes my heart so happy and I love being around her. I promise, Your Lordship, I will do everything in my power to keep her safe and spoil her with love and affection." Ruby said, smiling nervously.

Jacques closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. He started to breathe hard and his hands were clenched into two tight fists.

"Weiss, what have I done to earn this betrayal?" he finally said, his voice low and disturbingly calm.

"Father," Weiss protested, " I know-"

"SILENCE!" he boomed, slamming his right hand on the table and tipping over his cup of wine. "I have sacrificed so much for you, I have given you everything you could ever want in life and THIS is how you repay me?" he bellowed, gesturing towards Ruby when he said 'this'.

"Father, I know Ms. Rose isn't the high-class maiden you have hoped, but I assure you, I have seen her devotion to Weiss and she loves her very much. In fact-" Winter interjected before she was cut off by her father.

"Don't you DARE talk to me about love!" Jacques screamed, pointing a damning figure at Winter. "You were supposed to be the heiress, it was you who was supposed to run this company when I am dead and gone, but you decided you wanted to play dress up soldier instead and joined the Atlas Military! You took everything this family stands for you and spit on it to be a self-serving brat!"

Winter stood up, her pale blue eyes on fire with anger.

"How DARE you speak to me like that!"

"I will speak to you how I damn well please! I brought you into this world, I have the power over you. Only me, no one else!"

"Is this because we're both girls?" Ruby asked timidly. Jacques laughed a deep, bitter chuckle.

"Is that what you think this is about, you mewling quim?" he sneered. "You're even more ignorant than I had feared. No, if she wanted to be a useless lesbian, Weiss should know that I have a list of potential female suitors, all daughters from some of the most powerful families in all of Remnant! But no, she decided she'd rather engage in blasphemous behavior with a high pitched toothpick!"

"That is ENOUGH!" Weiss cried, now slamming her fist on the table. "You will not insult _my_ girlfriend like that."

"Stop and ask yourself, Weiss - what kind of life can she provide for you? Hm? Can she help pay the bills? Keep a roof over your head?" And if you decided to have children, what kind of mother would she be? Those narrow hips could barely push through a peach, let alone a child. And those tiny, insignificant breasts could barely feed a kitten, let alone a strong virile child with Schnee genes!" Jacques yelled. Now it was Ruby's term to stand up and shout.

"Okay, two things! Number one, that's way creepy you have been looking at my boobs and B, even if they are small, they're still better than your stupid face that looks like that creepy guy on the bucket of fried chicken!" she yelled. Time froze as everyone stared at Ruby. Ruby swore she could see the hints of a smile on Winter's face, but that was quickly suppressed back to her stoic military expression.

"How dare you!" Jacques fumed, throwing his glass of wine across the room. "You come into my house, insult my food, insult my appearance and you expect me to approve of you defiling my daughter?! GET OUT! Leave this house at once before I call security."

"You will not do such a thing!" Weiss protested. "If she leaves, I'm leaving and I will refuse to give the speech tomorrow at the celebration."

"And I would leave too," Winter said, her chest thrust out, chin up high.

"Betrayal! Everywhere I look its betrayal! The fact that my daughters have staged this mutiny against me is proof that the gods hate us all!"

"Dude, listen to yourself!" Ruby protested. "Weiss isn't saying she doesn't want to be a Schnee anymore or that she doesn't want to be your daughter! She's just saying she's in love with me, that's all."

"Which is something you would never understand, _Jacques_!" Weiss snapped, pronouncing her father's name with enough venom to kill a Goliath Grimm. "You never loved Mother, you only craved her power, which is why you tricked her into thinking you cared about her! No matter how many times you dye your hair white, no matter how many contact lenses you wear, you will never, _ever_ be a Schnee!"

 _'Wait, he's not a Schnee..._?' Ruby thought. She didn't have much time to dwell on it before Jacques screamed with white-hot rage and shoved his steak knife into the solid wood of the dinner table.

"ENOUGH! I have had enough! You will go back to your room and you are in complete lockdown. No phone, no computers, no communication with the outside. Ms. Rose will take the first bus back to the dreaded Academy you call a home! You will no longer be giving the speech you wrote, but instead, you shall be reading a speech _I_ will prepare. "

"Fine!" Weiss said in a furious rage. "I will be glad to get this over with and leave you behind where you can die alone and forgotten."

"Oh, I'm not done yet." the Schnee patriarch sneered. "You will break up with this piece of low-class trash or else I will pull your tuition from the Academy!" Weiss gasped and recoiled in horror.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me, you spoiled brat!"

Weiss threw her chair back and stormed up to her room, with Ruby quickly lagging behind. She could hear Winter and her father arguing, but wanted no part of it. She kicked off her heels and held them in her hand, chasing Weiss up the stairs while in her bare feet. Ruby wasn't sure how Weiss was going to act, because she knew she couldn't watch her cry. ' _I've got to be strong for her_ ,' Ruby thought, mentally preparing herself to offer comforting cuddles and holding Weiss while she cried. But that never happened. Instead, her Snowflake grabbed Myrtenaster from its carrying case and began to slash wildly at anything in the room that wasn't nailed down. Her curtains, her mattress, her closet full of dresses, all of it was subjected to her wrath.

"That STUPID, EVIL, HEARTLESS MAN!" she yelled, not caring if he heard her. "Why does he have to be so pig-headed and wrong?! What have I ever done to earn his ire like this?!"

"Weiss, put down the weapon, ok?" Ruby said, tip-toeing carefully. "Let's not make him even madder and break all of your stuff."

"As if matters!" Weiss said, throwing her sword across the room so that it stuck in the wall like an over-sized dart. "No matter what I do, what I say, no matter how _prim_ or _proper_ I make myself, he never ever approves!" She sighed bitterly and sat down on the edge of a shredded bed, resting her head in her hands. "...why doesn't he love me?" she asked quietly. Ruby lunged forward and hugged her girlfriend tightly, giving her the sweetest kiss she could imagine.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Snowflake. I'm here and I love you," she said, stroking Weiss' platinum hair.

"I know you do and I love you too," Weiss said, sniffing and fighting back tears. "I just wish he did."

There was a gentle knock on the door frame and Ruby half-expected Winter to be there to teach Weiss the correct way to cry or something, but instead, it was Klein, his eyes and face sad.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he said quietly. "There's no excuse for what he did to you. I know I can't take back what he did, but I wanted to let you know you will always have a friend and ally in this house as long as I'm around."

"Thank you, Klein," Weiss said, her voice still wavering between crying and keeping it together. "That means so much to me."

"Well, this might help a bit," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a shiny card of 5,000 lien. Ruby's eyes went wide with wonder.

"How...? Where...? That's so much money!" she said. Klein just chuckled.

"Her father leaves these laying around as if they were business cards. I usually pick one or two up and save them for rainy days, but it looks like the clouds are awful grey in your world right now. So here, enjoy a night on the town, compliments of Jacques Schnee."

"But we're under lockdown?" Ruby said, handing Weiss a Kleenex to help her blow her nose. "How are we supposed to get out?"

"And who do you think locks the doors, love?" Klein said with a mischievous smile. "It seems I forgot to lock the doors tonight. Oh well."

"I could stand to get out of here," Weiss said, drying her eyes. "But where would we go?"

Ruby thought it over before the idea hit her like a runaway freight train.

"Weiss, my love, we are going to go to the most awesomest place, a place where you can forget all about your crummy Dad, a place where dreams come true and hope rides again! We are going to Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor!"


	5. The Dead Mom Club

**[CW: Dead parents and THE FEELS]**

* * *

It took some persuading to convince Weiss that Papa Pepperoni's was a worthy establishment for a date night, as the heiress considered the place to be "childish".

"Ruby, toddlers literally have their birthday parties there," Weiss said, closing the door as Klein left to call the girls a taxi. "Isn't there somewhere else we can go tonight?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Ruby countered as she desperately wiggled out of her dress to change into something much more comfortable for the evening. The RWBY team leader was eager to shed the restrictive confines of her formal wear, sighing with relief as she threw them into the corner.

"Remind me to take you underwear shopping," said Weiss. Ruby frowned slightly.

"What's wrong with my underwear?" she protested.

"Nothing at first. The strawberry pattern looks cute on you, but you need a little variety. You can't keep buying five to seven pairs of the same color and call it a day."

"Meh. Not all of us need _expensive, fancy undergarments_." Ruby teased, using her Winter/British mocking voice. Weiss just sighed, but still made a mental note to at least get her something cute that didn't look like it was from a kid's coloring book.

For this evening, Ruby had decided on a pair of bright red canvas high top sneakers, black jeans, a simple red tee-shirt and a dark grey BEACON ACADEMY ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT pullover hoodie. Weiss opted for something slightly more dressy, having decided on ice blue flats, white leggings and a light blue button-up blouse that hung slightly below her waist. Of course, her side ponytail was intact along with her crystal tiara.

"You look amazing," Ruby said, her silver eyes sparkling. Weiss blushed.

"And you look...presentable." she teased. Ruby stuck out her tongue in defiance.

"Just for that, I'm going to tell the employees at Papa Pepperoni's that it's your birthday, so the entire Pasta Pal Gang has to come and sing the Birthday Song to you!" Ruby said with a smug grin. Weiss visibly recoiled at such a thought.

"I think I would rather light my hair on fire," she said. Ruby just giggled, taking Weiss' hand in hers as they made their way down the main stairs. Weiss had trouble keeping up, as her girlfriend was practically skipping with excitement. Klein was waiting for them at the door, politely bowing as they left to hop in the Ninja Taxi cab service that was waiting for them outside.

"So are yuh two are gonna Papa Pepperoni's, right, or what? " the cabbie said, chomping on an obscenely large cigar.

"Y-yes?" Weiss said cautiously, having trouble deciphering the driver's thick dialect.

"Yuh seem a bit too old tuh be gonna such a kid-friendly place, but what do I know, or what? Yuh pay, I drive. Right? "

"That's, uh, right," Ruby said. "Hey, would you be okay if I rolled up the privacy window?" The cabbie just shrugged.

"Suit yawhself. Yuh with me? But I will say, if yuh do any hanky-panky in de back seat, I will charge yuh fawh any stain removal. Right?" he said, before rolling up the smoked glass divider separating the front and back of the car. Weiss exhaled with relief, happy to not have to converse with the cabbie anymore than she needed to. Ruby reached into her Pumpkin Pete messenger bag, which doubled as her 'purse', to fish out her Scroll and load up Cookie Crush. She had made it to level 99 and was hell-bent on clearing the board to unlock Cookie Crusher Level Platinum. Weiss closed her eyes and rested her head on Ruby's shoulder, listening to the sound of the road and beep-boop of Ruby's Scroll. Despite her calm exterior, she was a mess from within, running over her father's ultimatum over and over again. Could she really choose between her life as a huntress or Ruby? It made her shudder with fear, something Ruby picked the physical sensation up off of her shoulder.

"You okay, Snowflake?" she asked, pausing her game. Weiss didn't want to worry her, so she didn't discuss the ultimatum, but rather brought up a subject she had been curious about, but never had the courage to ask.

"Ruby, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure!" Ruby said cheerfully. "No secrets between us. Ever."

"Why...why are you Ruby Rose?"

"Because Pumpkin Pete was already taken...?"

"You know what I mean."

Ruby giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

"You want to know why I'm Ruby _Rose_ and not Ruby _Xiao Long_ , right?"

"If it's too personal..." Weiss said, unsure if she had hit a nerve. Ruby waved her concern away.

"No, no, it's...it's fine. It's just something I never really thought anyone would be curious about. I guess I should start from the beginning. How much do you know about my family? You know Yang and I have different Moms, right?"

"Yes, I know that," Weiss said. "I'm also aware of Yang's, shall we say, strong feelings towards her mother."

"Heh, yeah. She's not really fond of Raven." Ruby said with a shrug. "I can't say I blame her, though. But anyway, so after Raven ran away, Dad married his former teammate, Summer Rose and not long after, I was born."

"Wait, did you say former teammate?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Yep!" Ruby said proudly. "Dad, Mom, Raven and Uncle Qrow were all on the same team in Beacon back in the day. That's how Dad met Mom and Raven."

"Huh, I did not know this. Please continue." Weiss said, curious what kind of dynamics they had for Tai to impregnate half of his team.

"I...I don't have any real memories of my Mom. She died when I was super young. Everything I know about her are just second-hand stories I hear from Yang, or Dad or Uncle Qrow. They tell me she was super brave and a great Huntress and that she was an amazing Mom for me and Yang and would make the best cookies ever." Ruby said, glancing out the window of the car. This was obviously difficult for her, so Weiss took her hand and kissed it softly, offering silent reassurance. "But when I was born, my birth certificate said Ruby Xiao Long and it was that way for a bit."

"How...how did your mother die?" Weiss asked softly. Ruby paused, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye.

"It was an ursa." she finally said. "Dad and Qrow had left on a mission to clear out a pack of boarbatusk that were ruining the crops of a small village and attacking the people there. Mom had stayed behind to take care of me and Yang, but when the ursa was spotted near our house on Patch, she put Yang in charge of watching me and went out to fight it alone."

"It was just one ursa?" Weiss asked. Ruby shook her head no.

"No, I mean...well, yes, at first. She thought it was just one ursa, but it was a trap. As soon as she got there, an alpha Grimm came out of the woods. She was outnumbered but...but I'm told she fought hard. She killed the ursa and wounded the alpha, but by the time Dad and Qrow made it back, I guess her wounds were too severe."

"I'm...sorry for your loss," Weiss said quietly, squeezing Ruby's hand tightly. Ruby gave her a warm smile and kissed her lips softly as a thank you.

"But...see, the thing is...growing up, I never felt like a Xiao Long. Here, let me show you something..." Ruby said, reaching into her messenger back. Fishing through the various knick-knacks and clutter, she pulled out her wallet and hiding behind her student ID, was a beat up, dog-eared photo that she gave to Weiss to look at it. The photo was of a very beautiful young woman, delicate features with a pure white hooded cloak that looked identical to Ruby's. Her eyes were the same shade of stunning silver, her skin like porcelain and her hair as black as the night. All in all, she looked like she could be Ruby's older twin sister.

"This...this is Summer?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded, gingerly taking the photo back and returning it to its secure location behind her student ID.

"Yep, that's Mom. You can see we look almost the same, so growing up was weird for me cause I didn't look like Dad. Yang looks like her Mom, but she has Dad's hair color and his personality. I didn't get any of that."

"You're your mother's child," Weiss said. Ruby gave a soft, sad smile.

"Yeah, pretty much. So when I turned thirteen, Dad said I could get whatever I wanted, so I asked for a pony - which I did not get, I might add," she said. That was Ruby to a T, always finding a way to lighten the mood, no matter how serious. "So with no pony, I asked for something else - I wanted to change my last name to Rose."

"And how did Tai take it?" Weiss asked. Ruby shrugged.

"He...I dunno, seemed okay with it? It was weird. I remember he got really quiet and just said 'ok' and a few days later, I signed some papers and that was it. I've been Ruby Rose ever since."

" _A rose by any other name would smell as sweet_ ," Weiss said, kissing her girlfriend's cheek.

"Aw, did you just come up with that on your own?" Ruby asked, wiping away another stray tear.

"It's Shakespeare, actually."

"That pointy beard guy who talks with the thous and thuslys and such?" Ruby asked, remembering the lessons on him in class that seemed to drag on for torturous amounts of hours.

"Yes, that's him," Weiss said with a sarcastic eye roll. "The Pointy Beard Guy."

"Hey, so since we're being so open, I wanted to ask you, what's up with your family? I mean, you said your Dad isn't really a Schnee? What's that all about?"

Weiss winced as she had been sucker punched in the stomach. It was a subject she wasn't comfortable talking about, but Ruby had been so open with her back-story that she felt it wouldn't be fair to keep this to herself. Besides, no secrets, just like Ruby had said.

"No, he wasn't a born a Schnee," Weiss said after a bit of a pause. "When my grandfather founded the Schnee Dust Company, he hired my mother, Willow, to work with him in the front office. But she was too proud to accept a high ranking job and didn't want people to think she was only there because of nepotism-"

"Like the ice cream?" Ruby asked.

"No, Ruby. That's Neapolitan. Nepotism is when someone gives cushy jobs to their friends or family even if they aren't qualified for it."

"Ohh..." Ruby said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Go on, I'm all ears."

"So Mother started working in the mail room, handing out letters and packages and taking down Grandfather's letters and notes. She worked hard every day, arrived early and left late and she earned the respect of her co-workers."

"She sounds really cool," Ruby said with a half smile. "I would have liked to have met her."

"I think she would have liked you, Ruby. But back to my story, Mother began to work her way up the ladder through hardwork and determination, but it was around this time she began to date Jacques Gelé, who was an intern at the company. Jacques wrote her love letters and stuck them in her desk drawers for her to read and they finally became engaged and married, all within six months."

"Wow," Ruby said, awe-struck. "He didn't waste any time."

"Well, it was probably because she was pregnant with Winter at this time, but yes, it was a whirlwind romance. He married her and, surprising everyone, he took her last name and became a Schnee. His official excuse was something about not 'wanting to ruin the brand', whatever that means. Mother was surprised, but accepted. Grandfather passed away shortly before I was born."

"How did your grandpa feel about the marriage?" Ruby asked, wanting more details.

"If he had any problems, he never said, or at least to Mother he didn't. But as the marriage went on, Fath-, I mean, _Jacques,_ became cold and distant and spent most of his time in the office and less time with Mother."

"But how do you know all of this?"

"Because...Mother liked to drink." Weiss said with a sad sigh. "I remember being little and hearing them argue and scream at each other and Jacques would storm off to lock himself in his office, leaving Mother alone with a bottle of wine. Winter and I would try and keep her company, but as the bottle became lighter, the conversation became heavier and she would tell us everything, regardless if we wanted to hear it or not." Ruby visibly winced at this, her mind unable to comprehend such a thing.

"So, um, h-how did she die?" Ruby finally asked. Weiss didn't cry, just scoffed bitterly and stared down at her feet.

"The more she drank, the more problems it caused for the company. She skipped board meetings and failed to meet with stockholders and when she did show up at the office, she was slurring her words and reeked of alcohol and sweat. She was a mess. Jacques went behind her back to force the board to vote him as sole CEO of the company saying she was unfit to lead. When she found out, she tried to drive to the office to put a stop to it. She, of course, was drunk and ran right into a guardrail, head on."

"Oh, my gods..." Ruby said, covering her mouth. "Weiss, I'm so, so sorry. I...I should have never have asked."

"No, I'm f-fine," Weiss said, hardening her steely reserve. "I've made peace with what happened and realize I can't change the past, only look forward to the future."

"Where is she buried, if you don't mind me asking? I'd love to say hello and thank her for raising such an amazing daughter." Ruby said, now taking her turn to squeeze Weiss' hand. Weiss just gave Ruby a defeated chuckle.

"She's not. Jacques didn't want a funeral as he didn't want to show 'weakness' to his competitors, so he had her cremated. Her ashes are in an urn behind his desk."

"Oh..." was all Ruby could say. The silence hung awkwardly in the air, as neither girl knew what to say. Ruby had assumed her story was sad and tragic, but all things considered, she was relieved things had happened the way they did, as opposed to Weiss' history. "So you know what? I think we should form a club."

"A club?" Weiss said, confused. "What kind of club?"

"Why, the Dead Mom Club of course!"

"Ruby Rose! That is highly inappropriate." Weiss scolded.

"No, no, I don't mean like it's a club where we celebrate that our Moms are dead, but think of it as a support group. Like, I dunno, a place where people with dead Moms can come and cry together and then we can try and cheer each other up with chocolate and cookies." Ruby said. That was one of the things Weiss loved about the hyperactive young woman, her desire to constantly improve the lives of others around her. No one was beneath her for a hug, or a corny joke or even a random compliment. Ruby Rose wanted to make the world a better place.

"Okay then, Ruby. As of now, we are both charter members of the Dead Mom Club." Weiss said with a giggle. Ruby squealed with delight and lunged forward, hugging Weiss tightly around the neck.

"Oh, I love you so much, Snowflake! This is going to be the best club ever." Ruby said, planting a soft, warm kiss on her beloved's lips.

" Yuh two are de cutest couple evuh!"

"AHHH! Have you been listening to us this entire time!?" Weiss asked in shock. The cabbie jumped in surprise, nearly choking on his dimly lit cigar.

"No, I swear on my mudder's grave! Okay? I just rolled down de privacy window tuh letcha know we're here at Papa Pepperoni's. Right?"

Weiss grumbled something about 'respecting privacy' and stepped out of the cab, stretching her lithe limbs. Papa Pepperoni's was a blinking day-glo nightmare, blasting some obnoxious kiddie friendly dance music as a giant neon-light rat winked on repeat, his face obscured by a massive handlebar mustache.

"Ruby, are you sure we should be eating in an establishment that has a rodent as a mascot?"

"Who, Papa Pepperoni? No way! He's clean and totally great. He's the leader of the Pasta Pals, Weiss. That's not a title he takes lightly." Ruby said, swiping the lien card to give the driver a generous tip. She waved bye as the Ninja Taxi drove off. "Welp, get ready to get your socks blown off, Snowflake! You are now entering the most delicious place in all of Remnant!"


	6. Lord Gor'Gath - The Undead Ambassador

**Hey guys, not to sound like I'm begging, but if you really like this story, could you leave a review, even if it's a simple "This story rules!" or something? Your reviews mean a lot to me and are very encouraging for me to keep going.**

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Weiss could easily see why Papa Pepperoni's would appeal to Ruby. The entire interior was an explosion of bright lights, beeping and booping arcade machines and a carnival-like atmosphere that would appeal to her in a way that no other establishment, except maybe a weapons shop, could. The top floor held arcade machines as far as the eye could see, but the bottom floor is where the dining tables were actually located. Ruby could barely contain her excitement, as she held on to Weiss' right hand with a tight grip, the RWBY team leader practically bouncing in place as she waited for the host to take them to their seat.

"Hi, welcome to Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor where you can have _im-pasta-bowl_ levels of fun. My name is Mark. Party of two?" the poor teen host droned monotone. He was dressed up in a stereotypical outfit of a red and white vertical striped shirt, a plastic black handlebar mustache, and a pork pie hat.

"Indeed, good sir!" Ruby said with way more formality than needed. "My girlfriend and I shall require your finest table!" Mark barely acknowledged that as the emotional toll on this job had sucked any life out of his voice and personality.

"No problem, ma'am. Your booth is 3E and if you'll follow-" he was in the process of saying, but a cloud of rose petals cut him off as Ruby zoomed to their table, leaving Weiss and Mark behind. "Are...are those rose petals?" he asked, plucking one out of the air as it slowly fell to earth. Weiss just sighed.

"Yes, they are. But they will disappear in about twenty minutes or so. I'm sorry about this, I'll make sure to-" Weiss was also saying, but she was now interrupted by another cloud of petals as Ruby had run back to the front lobby.

"Sorry!" she said with a shy smile, grabbing Weiss by the wrist. "I forgot my Snowflake."

"Ruby, wait, I can waaaaaaaaaaalllkk!" Weiss wailed, as Ruby Semblanced them to the booth at 3E. Weiss felt like she barely had time to catch her breath before she was unceremoniously dumped in the booth, sitting across from Ruby who was already nose deep in the menu.

"I honestly haven't seen you this excited since you managed to win tickets to HunterCon," Weiss said, adjusting to the worn out red pleather seat of her booth.

"How could I not be excited?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I've only been wanting to come here since I was a little girl and it was all the way over in Atlas, so far from Patch!"

"I admit, this wouldn't be the type of location I would have chosen for a date, but it is nice to see you so happy." And it was true. Weiss took joy in watching Ruby bounce around with excitement and it helped take her mind off the decision she would have to make in regards to her relationship or her career as a Huntress. It was a lose/lose situation and Weiss was feeling torn down the middle, but seeing Ruby happy helped ease the pain a bit.

"Can I get you, ladies, anything?" deadpanned Mark, notepad in hand.

"Yes, you can!" Ruby said cheerfully. "I will have a large coffee, please. And I need exactly eight sugars and eight little cream thingies, please! And Weiss?"

"I'll just have a small coffee, please. One cream, one sugar."

Mark jotted down the order, his eyes dull and glazed.

"Ready to eat?" he asked.

"I'm actually not that hungry," Weiss admitted. "I'll just have a small slice of cheesecake."

"And for you, ma'am?" Mark queried of Ruby, brushing off an errant rose petal off his shoulder. Ruby was studying her menu hard, her silver eyes focused with laser-like precision. This was not a decision she was going to make lightly.

"I...I think I'll haaaaaveee...you know what? I'm an adult! Let's skip straight to dessert. I'll have the Delizioso Dynamite Cookie Crumble, please. And can I get extra mocha-choco dipping sauce?" Ruby wondered to her emotionally hollowed out waiter. Mark just shrugged and scribbled something down on his notepad.

"Sure. I get paid the same either way. I'll be back with your orders." he murmured and shuffled off to the kitchen.

"I swear you are five years old." Weiss laughed. "Dessert for dinner? You're lucky Yang's not here."

"Which is exactly why I ordered it, Snowflake!" Ruby countered. "Without Yang being all Sister-Mom on me, I can finally eat what I want! I'll just have to train extra hard back at the Academy to burn this off."

Both girls sat there in silence, holding hands over the table, neither one speaking but enjoying the quiet comfort of the other's presence. Finally, it was Ruby who broke the silence, posing a question that had been eating at the back of her mind since that ill-fated dinner.

"Hey Snowflake, not to kill the mood, but uh, what are you going to do with what your Dad said?" she questioned. Weiss winced a bit, as she was trying to avoid that topic at hand.

"I'll think of something, Ruby." was all she said, but that wasn't good enough for her girlfriend.

"Weiss, please...I want to talk about this." Ruby pleased, her silver eyes wrought with worry and concern. The very fact she said 'Weiss' was proof enough she was concerned, as she almost exclusively referred to her girlfriend as Snowflake since the relationship started. Weiss gave a bitter sigh and rubbed her temples, trying to relax the stress and unease that was building.

"For starters, there's no way I'm going to end things with you. This is honestly the happiest I've ever been, even if you can a bit of a hyperactive dolt at times, but if Jacques thinks I'm ending this, he's sadly mistaken." Weiss said defiantly. This made Ruby's heart sing for joy, but that emotional high almost immediately came crashing down as the repercussions of that decision hit her hard.

"But Weiss...that means you wouldn't be able to stay in Beacon..." Ruby worried. Weiss took Ruby's hands back in her own and gave a soft, sad, sweet smile.

"I swear to you, Ruby Rose, I will do everything in my power to stay by your side as your teammate, your friend, your classmate and your girlfriend."

"Snowflake...I...I love you." Ruby sniffled. Weiss kissed the back of Ruby's hand and smiled warmly.

"And I love you as well, Ruby Rose."

As tender as this moment was, it was interrupted by the sound of Mark clearing his throat, holding a large tray with Weiss' cheesecake, Ruby's gastronomical dessert nightmare and two steaming cups of coffee.

"Your food," he said flatly. "It's here."

Ruby's excitement was back up to one hundred as the huge dish was neatly placed in front of her. It was a massive chocolate chip cookie, the size of a frying pan, on which shredded churros, smashed Smoreo cookies and two big scoops of chocolate ice cream were piled on top. And true to Ruby's request, it was smothered in hot Mocha-Choco Sauce.

"This. looks. DELICIOUS!" Ruby squealed with delight. Weiss was almost positive she could see stars in Ruby's eyes.

"That looks disgusting." the Heiress groaned. "But enjoy your sugar rush."

How Ruby even managed to stop and take time to catch a breath was beyond Weiss Schnee. She watched with a mixture of horror and amusement as the diminutive brunette practically inhaled her Frankendessert, easily gobbling up the confectionary abomination. If you had never met Ruby and this was your only experience with her, you would assume she was an impulsive, childish pixie, which, Weiss reluctantly admitted to herself, is partially true. She can be like that at her worst.

However, Weiss would be the first to admit that Ruby was one of the most gifted Huntresses she had ever seen. Watching Ruby yield Crescent Rose was like watching ballet, or a beautifully synchronized dance number. It was almost like the curved blade-gun was an extension of herself, something she twirled and slashed with the greatest of ease. There had been times where Weiss was sure they were outnumbered by Grimm, the odds too high for a chance of survival and just when things seemed their bleakest, there came Ruby Rose, slicing and dicing with her weapon, clearing a path for safety or at least injuring the Grimm enough to allow for an easier victory or successful retreat. And, Weiss was embarrassed to admit, she did look really hot in full combat mode. In fact-

"Weiss?"

Weiss blinked back to reality, realizing she had been daydreaming.

"Sorry, Ruby. Were you saying something?"

"Yeah, I was saying I'm done with dessert and I wanna go upstairs to play video games. Wanna come with me? I'll win you a prize!" Ruby grinned.

"I'm not much of a video game person, but I would be delighted to come with you," Weiss replied. After swiping the lien card at the payment station at the table and boxing up Weiss' barely touched cheesecake, Ruby practically ran upstairs to the arcade, Weiss being tugged behind by the wrist.

' _At least she's not using her Semblance..._ ' Weiss thought, happy they wouldn't be leaving another mess of rose petals to clean up. Once they crested the stairs to the arcade, Ruby's jaw dropped.

"...so beautiful..." she whispered. Ruby felt like how she did on her first day at Beacon Academy, completely overwhelmed and excited by everything before her. So many things to look at! So many things to do! She felt like she could explode with giddiness at any moment, just erupting into a squealing, glee-filled bomb of fireworks and caffeine. She wasn't even sure what game she wanted to play first - _ROBOT WARS XL? TURBO GOPHER MASSACRE? ZOMBIE DATING SIMULATOR? ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT GRIMM_? So many decisions! But then, like a burning bush in the desert, she saw it. The Game. The only one she would need to play, the one she had read so much about - _Zombie Sniper Turbo Edition_. With the 4k Digitally Remastered graphics and deleted scenes added to the story mode! Ruby felt like she was floating on clouds as she walked over to the machine, swiped the Lien card and picked her character, a plucky female sniper with a cybernetic eye named Gaige.

"Even I have heard of this game," Weiss admitted, standing to the side of the machine. "The game so tough, it made the news. They said no one can even beat the first level."

"HA!" Ruby scoffed. "This game never ran into me! Sniping is my specialty! Well, that and cookies. And kissing you. Okay, so sniping is _one_ of my specialties, which include kissing you and cookies."

"Just play the game, dolt." Weiss giggled, giving Ruby a supportive kiss on the cheek. Ruby grinned in determination and stared down the faux-scope of the heavy plastic sniper rifle.

' **READY? BEGIN THE HUNT!** ' the game bellowed, as the cutscreen shown the safe house doors bursting open and the hordes of the shambling undead starting to file in. Ruby swept the room, sizing each zombie and what areas were in need of protection, and pulled the trigger. A compressed audio recording of an actual sniper file played through the built-in speakers on the gun and a ghoul's head exploded in pixilated viscera. This was followed by another and another and another and another. All flawless headshots and all of them with plenty of time to spare to protect the civilians hiding in the corner of the factory level. A small crowd began to gather to watch this spectacle, as no one had shown a mastery of this game quite like this short girl in the grey hoodie.

"Oh, you want some more?" Ruby taunted. "Here's some more!"

BOOM. Another headshot.

"Hail to the Queen, baby!"

BOOM. Another headshot.

"Say hello to my little friend!"

BOOM. Another headshot.

On and on it went, with most of the arcade cheering as if they were at a sports game, watching Ruby make it to the final boss, the dreaded Lord Gor'Gath - The Undead Ambassador of Pain. No one had even beaten the first level, let alone made it this far. Weiss actually felt a sense of pride that her girlfriend was so good at video games, even if she herself didn't think they were all that entertaining.

"You can do it, Ruby! I believe in you!" she cheered, feeling slightly silly but still wanting to root her on.

The actual battle was tough and fierce, with Ruby having to dodge her digital avatar behind walls and barrels to avoid the Gor-Gath's Flaming NecroSkulls and his Acid Breath. The whole fight must have lasted a good twenty minutes before Ruby timed an expert shot right between the beast's eyes sending him to whatever pixilated hell he crawled out of.

"I did it!" Ruby squealed, jumping up and down and clapping. "I beat the game!"

"I'm so proud of you!" Weiss said, reaching over to hug Ruby. But she was caught off guard when Ruby yanked her down and literally swooped her low for a kiss.

"Gimmie some sugar, baby!" she said with a wink and the two shared a deep, passionate kiss to the "Oooohs!" and "YOU GET IT, GIRL!" cheers from the crowd. When the two finally broke their kiss, Weiss' cheeks feeling hot and her lips even hotter, Ruby scooped up the huge pile of tickets the machine had spat out and was practically skipping towards the prize room to redeem her bounty. At least, that was the plan till one of the side rooms caught her eye. "Weeeiisssssss! Looooook! We _have_ to do this!"

Weiss took one look at the sign for the room and vehemently shook her head no.

"No way, no way, NO WAY. Watching you play video games is one thing, but there's no way in Remnant I'm doing this."

"Pleeeaaassseeee!" Ruby pleaded, using her silver eyes to their full advantage, giving them her best puppy dog beg. Weiss sighed, once again succumbing to her girlfriend's whims and desires.

"Fine. But no one from the team finds out about this, ok? Yang will have a field day if she finds out." Weiss said. Ruby jumped for joy, hugging Weiss tightly around her neck.

"Thank you, Snowflake! I promise this will be our little secret!"

And so the two girls walked into the room, above which hung a neon sign that read 'Karaoke'...


	7. Opposites Attract

**So this isn't quite a song-fic, but it's still a music-filled chapter. To help understand it a bit, lyrics on the left side are sung by Ruby, while lyrics on the right side are sung by Weiss. Lyrics in the bold are sung by both girls at the same time.**

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Weiss felt like she was on death row, imagining herself as a convict in some supermax prison, waiting for her name to be called before she's taken behind the steel door to meet whatever grisly fate awaits her. Except this wasn't a prison and she wasn't an inmate, but rather she was waiting for her and Ruby's names to be called to be the next group to sing for Karaoke Night at Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor. She nervously sipped her glass of water, even though it had long since been empty and was nothing more than noisy ice cubes loudly clanking together.

"Rellaaaaax!" Ruby said with a warm smile. "You're going to rock the house! And besides, you've sung in front of the crowds before."

"This is totally different!" Weiss protested. "Those were formal events, balls, galas, fundraisers - places with class and sophistication. I've never sung anything with an animatronic mouse as the DJ!"

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" Ruby said with a giggle and sipped her umpteenth coffee of the night. Weiss just sighed and looked at the television monitor, seeing how many people were in front of them. Just one, and they were currently taking the stage. Weiss swallowed hard, her hand shaking slightly. This was not like her! She was a Schnee and Schnees do not run from challenges. Taking a deep breath, she used some of the breathing exercises Ren had taught her to calm herself and bring her heartbeat down to a normal level and it partially worked. The couple on stage sang decently, but the woman's voice cracked on some of the high notes and Weiss internally scoffed. She couldn't help it, it was just her nature. She had been trained by some of the most talented singers in Atlas! The duo received mild applause, as Papa Pepperoni's felt and machine avatar announced the next singer.

"Alright, give it up for Nice Dynamite! Next up, we have a first-time appearance, so please put your hands together for White Rose!"

"White Rose?" Weiss whispered, following Ruby up on stage.

"Yeah, it's cute, right? I think it should be our couples name."

"Couples name? Why do we need a couples name?"

"Duh!" Ruby said with an eye roll, "all cute couples have couples names! Don't you read the news? Celebrities do it all the time."

Weiss was about ready to protest when the melody of the song kicked and the lyrics displayed on the stage facing monitor.

"Ruby!" she hissed. "I don't know this song. At all."

"It's cool, just sing the parts in white and I'll sing the parts in red. Then we both sing the parts in pink. Just follow the colors, Snowflake!"

Weiss took one last deep breath and stared out into the audience as she held the microphone to her lips as Ruby started to sing the first verse.

 _Baby seems we never ever agree  
You like the movies  
And I like T.V._

 _I take thing serious  
And you take 'em light  
I go to bed early_

 _And I party all night_

 ** _Our friends are sayin'  
We ain't gonna last_**

 _Cuz I move slowly_

 _And baby I'm fast_

 _I like it quiet_

 _And I love to shout_

 ** _But when we get together  
It just all works out_**

 ** _I take-2 steps forward  
I take-2 steps back  
We come together  
Cuz opposites attract  
And you know-it ain't fiction  
Just a natural fact  
We come together  
Cuz opposites attract_**

' _This actually isn't so bad...'_ Weiss thought as the musical interlude hit. Ruby was having the time of her life, twirling, singing, making exaggerated hand gestures along with the music. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, she was wiggling her hips a bit while she sang and with Weiss standing slightly behind her, it was giving her emotions that could not be acted upon in public.

 _Who'd a thought we could be lovers  
She makes the bed_

 _And she steals the covers_

 _She likes it neat_

 _And she makes a mess_  
 _I take it easy_

 _Baby, I get obsessed  
She's got the money_

 _And she's always broke  
I don't like puns_

 _And I like to joke_

 ** _Things in common  
There just ain't a one  
But when we get together  
We have nothin' but fun_**

 ** _I take-2 steps forward  
I take-2 steps back  
We come together  
Cuz opposites attract  
And you know-it ain't fiction  
Just a natural fact  
We come together  
Cuz opposites attract_**

They sang the chorus a few more times before the song faded out. Weiss' face was sweating from the hot stage lights and from the nerves of singing this song while Ruby was bowing like an opera singer after a masterful performance.

"WHITE ROSE! WHITE ROSE! WHITE ROSE!" the crowd cheered in approval, giving the two girls a standing ovation. Weiss was flabbergasted and blushed at this show of approval, but when Ruby's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in for a romantic kiss, those fears melted away.

"You were terrific, Snowflake," Ruby said smiling.

"It's because I had a good partner," Weiss said with a smirk. "Someone who pushes me outside of my comfort zone and makes me try new things."

"Oh yeah? She sounds pretty cool. You should totally stick with her."

"I'm thinking about it. She's cute and all, but she snores when she sleeps." Weiss said with a laugh.

"I do not snore!" Ruby protested as they walked off the stage, the crowd still cheering.

"Ruby, I admit, I'm having the time of my life tonight, but it's getting late and I still have to give that speech tomorrow..." Weiss said with a yawn.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Well, let me go cash in my tickets and we can go home sound good?" she said. Weiss agreed with a soft peck on the cheek. The two walked arm in arm towards the prize redemption center, Ruby carrying her huge cup full of bright yellow tickets she had won at Zombie Sniper. "Pick something cute, babe, and it's totally yours!"

"Oh really? Well...hmmm...I think I like that giant penguin up there." Weiss said. Ruby gave a thumbs up and dumped her tickets on the counting scale.

"Good evening, sir! I wish to partake of your giant penguin for my sweetheart here!" she said, her chest pushed out in pride. The receptionist, another vacant-eyed retail zombie, looked at the weight of the tickets and shrugged.

"You don't have enough. The stuffed penguin is 9,000 tickets and you only have 348." he droned.

"What?! 9,000 tickets?! That's impossible!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Sorry, ma'am, I don't make the rules."

Ruby sighed bitterly and rubbed the bridge of her nose, the same stress habit Weiss would do. Weiss thought it was cute to see Ruby so flustered, but she knew how obsessive her team leader/girlfriend would be over this.

"Hey Ruby, it's fine. No worries. I'm already coming home with something cute..." she said with a smile, but Ruby didn't smile back. Instead, she sized the underpaid employee up and scowled in anger.

"So, if I can't get that penguin, what can I get for 348 tickets?" she demanded. The employee, his name tag reading 'CHAD', reached behind the counter and produced a bright red Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor beer cozy.

"This is normally 350 tickets, but I can let it slide this time," Chad said, his eyes dull.

"FINE!" Ruby snapped. "I'll take it." The exchange was made and Ruby huffed out of the prize room, grabbing Weiss by the wrist. "C'mon, let's ditch this place. Stupid mouse. Stupid prizes. Stupid tickets."

They made their way outside, waiting for the Ninja Taxi to take them back to Schnee Manor. Ruby was clearly upset, her cheeks flushed red with anger. Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist from behind her and nuzzled her neck.

"It's fine, Ruby. It really is. The fact you won that for me means so much to me. No one has ever tried to win a prize for me before..."

Ruby felt the anger float out of her body like a rapidly deflating balloon and snuggled closer to her Snowflake.

"You're right, I acted like a total butt. I'm sorry for being a total butt," she said.

"It helps that you have a cute butt," Weiss whispered in her ear, giving said butt a tight squeeze. Ruby blushed three shades of red. "In fact, why don't I show you much I appreciate you when we get home? I have, uh, something special I want to wear for you..."

Ruby's mouth went dry and her head started to spin, but all she could do was nod. The Ninja Taxi pulled up and both girls got in, Weiss smiling to herself and Ruby feeling like her head was in the clouds. She barely felt the car ride and coming back to the manor felt like it was all a dream. Klein had long since fallen asleep but left a note for Weiss to lock the door behind her. The girls made a bee-line for Weiss' bedroom, with Ruby double and triple checking to make sure the door was locked.

"Wait here, I'll be back..." Weiss said with a grin. She was still a ball of nerves on the inside because she had never done anything like this before. Weiss took a Victorian's Secret shopping bag buried in the bottom of her suitcase and disappeared into her private bathroom. Ruby, not really sure what to do, changed into her PJs and waited.

The idea was Weiss', but the execution was helped by Nora. The caffeine-addicted Valkyrie had insisted that she go shopping with Weiss to help her find the right outfit to 'rock Ruby's world', as she put it.

"Trust me, she'll looovvvve this!" Nora had said, pulling off an icy blue two-piece set from the racks. Weiss remembered looked at it and frowning.

"Butt floss? Really?"

"Pffttt! Silly girl, you don't wear this to _wear_ it, you _wear_ it to take off! One look at this and Ruby's gonna get a nosebleed that'll shoot her around the room like a rocket!" Nora had replied.

So now, Weiss had to admit, she didn't look too bad. Her hair was down, no tiara and the bra did make her breasts seem bigger. The 'butt floss' was not comfortable in the slightest, but she was hoping that would come off soon. Weiss took every opportunity to make sure everything was in place, even spritzing herself with her favorite perfume. Finally, when she was satisfied, she stepped out of the bathroom and shut off the light behind her.

"Oh Ruby, my sweet, where are you?" she said in a cute, sing-song voice. "Where has my beloved Ruby gone?"

But there was no answer, at least, nothing verbal. Instead, Weiss was greeted with loud snoring and saw Ruby spread out on the bed, sound asleep with her Scroll on her chest. She had fallen asleep watching 'CUTE CORGI VIDEOS' online while waiting for Weiss.

"...I wasn't gone that long, was I?" Weiss wondered out loud. But a quick glance at her bedroom clock revealed she had spent nearly forty-five minutes getting ready. Poor Ruby had waited as long as she could, before passing out. "I'm sorry, babe..." Weiss said, tucking her girlfriend in and snuggling closer to her. The butt floss came off, but for purely unsexy reasons. "Goodnight, my rose," she whispered.

As she fell asleep, the moonlight poked through the curtains and illuminated Weiss' trophy case where, alongside her singing and horse riding trophies, was a Papa Pepperoni's Pizza Parlor beer cozy.


	8. The Beginning of the End of the Beginnin

When the alarm went off, Ruby had rolled over, still in her PJs and found the bed empty. It took a moment or two for the mental cobwebs to declutter as her brain began to wake up and shake off the doldrums of sleep before she could piece together what was going on. The date with Weiss, the video game high score, karaoke...and Weiss' "surprise" that never materialized because she had fallen asleep. Now feeling incredibly guilty, Ruby slowly made her way out of bed to see where her girlfriend had gone. She didn't have to look long, as she could Weiss' angelic singing voice coming from the shower behind the closed bathroom door, which was frustratingly locked.

"Hey, uh, Weiss?" Ruby yelled so she could be heard over the singing and rushing water. "I'm sorry about last night, I didn't mean to fall asleep. Any chance I can come in and...make it up to you?"

The shower quickly shut off, Weiss singing now replaced with happy humming. Ruby could hear her bare, wet feet slap against the tiled floor of her private bathroom as the door swung open to reveal Weiss in a fluffy blue towel and a matching one wrapped around her hair.

"I deliberately took the shower with you asleep because I knew if you had joined me, we wouldn't be getting out for hours," Weiss said with a smile. "And don't blame yourself. I took way too long getting ready, so it was only natural you fell asleep." The two girls shared a quick kiss before Weiss threw open her wardrobe closet to find her outfit for this afternoon's speech.

"So, are you going to read what your Dad wrote for you?" Ruby asked timidly, wanting to approach the subject with as much reverence as possible. Weiss sighed as she found the off-white pants-suit she liked so much.

"I know what I'm going to say if that's what you're asking," she said, drying her hair with the fluffy towel. "I thought about it all last night before I fell asleep." Ruby bit her lip as this wasn't a direct answer and the fact that Weiss was being evasive made her slightly worried.

"Okay, but, um, you didn't answer my question..."

Weiss smiled and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders, before giving her team leader a soft kiss on the lips.

"Everything is under control, I promise you. You have nothing to worry about. Now, go get dressed and Klein will drive you to the press conference at the SDC factory. I have to be there early, so Winter is giving me a ride."

"Get dressed? Aw, no, does that mean the lady stilts have to go back on?" Ruby pouted. She detested those pumps and would banish them to the furthest reaches of Remnant if she could.

"Actually, no!" Weiss said with a sly smile. "After the... _unfortunate_...dinner last night, I had taken the liberty of ordering you a new outfit from one of my favorite designers. I had it expressed shipped, same day delivery and it arrived while we were at that detestable greasy arcade."

"First of all, I know you loved Papa Pepperoni, so don't even try and pretend you didn't have a good time. And secondly, what did you pick out? You know I'm not really a fancy clothes type of girl..."

In response, Weiss reached back into her stand-up wardrobe and produced an outfit hanging on a solid oak hanger. It was a black and red plaid skirt that hung down to the knees and a simple button up red blouse.

"For you," Weiss said with a smile. Ruby was in awe, as it was still cute and functional but 'fancy' enough for anything Schnee related. "And, if you're wondering about accessories, I thought you could wear your black tights and boots that are normally part of your combat skirt."

"This! Is! Perfect!" Ruby squealed, lunging forward with a tackle/hug that sent the heiress reeling back on her bed. The two huntresses shared an emotional, passionate kiss full of love and desire, before Ruby's hands began to wander to untie the knot on Weiss' towel. However, Ruby's hands were slapped away by a blushing Weiss.

"Not now, you horny dolt." she playfully scolded. "Shower and get dressed and let's get today over with and then we can talk about any _extra-circular actives_."

"And you say I'm bad with pillow talk..." Ruby grinned, sticking her tongue out in defiance. "Fine, if you insist, m'lady!" she added, giving a fake, exaggerated curtsy. Giggling at her own joke, she soon disappeared in a poof of rose petals as the bathroom door shut behind her.

"Dolt," Weiss said with a smile and finished getting dressed. Later, now fully dressed with her hair and makeup to her exact standards, she greeted Winter in the driveway of Schnee Manor, her sister behind the wheel of an extravagant Snurb XL 9000, a luxury class four-door car that would cost more than most people could even fathom. It was a dark shade of black with an all-white interior made from a synthetic leather-like material that was exclusive to the SDC. Winter owned two.

"Good afternoon, dear sister," Weiss said as she slid into the passenger seat. "Thank you for the ride."

"Think nothing of it." Winter dismissed with a hand wave. "But enough pleasantries, let's discuss your decision for today. Are you sure you wish to go through with this?"

Weiss chewed on her bottom lip as she thought it over. What she planned on doing was huge, monumental that would change everything she had ever known. But the more she dwelled on it, the more she let it rattle around in her brain, the more it became apparent that this was the right thing to do.

"Yes, I am absolutely sure," she said quietly.

"Than I am proud of you. You are acting like a Schnee by standing on your own two feet and making a name for yourself, just as our Grandfather did when he founded the company."

"Thank you," Weiss said with a blush. "I have the package that I need. I'm assuming everything is set to deal with Father's reaction?" The tiniest hint of a smirk teased on the corner of Winter's mouth in response

"You have nothing to worry about." was all Winter said.

* * *

This was Ruby's first time at the SDC front office and she quickly found herself in awe of the massive monolith of glass and concrete. It seemed to stretch upwards for an infinite amount, with Ruby having to crane her neck far back just to see where it stopped off at. A giant crystal snowflake, the same one that bedazzled all official SDC products (and Weiss' combat skirt) hung above the front door with the letters "SDC" below it in a pale blue lettering.

"Wow..." Ruby mouthed silently. She remembered setting foot on Beacon Academy and how large that seemed compared to her home back on Patch, but this dwarfed even the academy. She imagined Jacques' office was on the very top floor with a window as big as the wall and he would just stare out of it, muttering to himself about great it was to be rich and better than everyone in Atlas and how his daughter's girlfriend was so stupid and-

"You're the girlfriend, right?"

Ruby blinked as she snapped back to reality, her head locking back into place. The person who broke her concentration looked to be in her mid-20's, thin (too thin, Ruby thought, almost sickly thin), with brown hair, tired blue eyes, think wire-rim glasses and a headset with a microphone jutting in front of her mouth. Her suit was immaculate, not single thread out of place or wrinkled and was black as night.

"Uh, I'm Ruby Rose, if that's what you're asking...?"

"Right, terrific. I'm Madison, Mr. Schnee's personal assistant. I'm here to escort you to your seat in the amphitheater." Madison blurted out, her words rushing from her mouth like she was twenty minutes behind schedule. Ruby barely had any time to reply before Madison grabbed her wrist and half-dragged/half-lead her across the lobby to the huge wooden doors that held the entrance for the amphitheater. The interior was something out of an old-timey movie, with elegant bronze statues of various mythological figures perched over the ceilings and walls and murals showing smiling faces, interestingly enough no Faunus faces, using dust from everything from cooking to powering a car. The press had already gathered, double-checking their cameras and tape recorders. "Here," Madison said, gesturing towards a seat right in front "Ms. Schnee has picked this seat for you, front and center."

Ruby didn't really want to be front and center, but at least the press was behind her, so if she wound up in the papers, it would only be the back of her head.

"Normal girl...normal knees..." she sighed quietly to herself as she sat down. Both seats to the side of her were empty, as was the entire row. It was literally just her a few feet away from the stage and podium. She turned to ask Madison why she was alone in this row, but the frantic assistant was gone, screaming into her headset about Jacques needing "artisanal water" for his private room above the balcony. Shrugging to herself in defeat, Ruby made herself comfortable and browsed her Scroll a bit, playing a few rounds of 'Cookie Crush' or checking her social media feeds. She had lost track of the time when the lights in the room suddenly began to dim and everyone broke out into applause like this was a game of Grimmball. Adding to Ruby's confusion was a giant projector screen that lowered from the ceiling, blocking the podium in the middle of the stage.

"50 YEARS AGO, MY FATHER IN LAW DISCOVERED A CAVE OF DUST CRYSTALS AND NEVER LOOKED BACK..." boomed Jacques pre-recorded voice over the speakers. A slideshow began to project on the screen, showing blurry black and white photos of the early days of the SDC. Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes over the arrogance, knowing full well the truth of the matter that Weiss had told her in the car. "...SINCE THEN THE SCHNEE DUST COMPANY HAS STOOD FOR HONESTY, INTEGRITY, AND QUALITY. TO THIS DAY, WE USE SOME OF THE SAME DUST MINING TECHNIQUES..."

Sighing with boredom, Ruby brought her Scroll back out to play a few more rounds of Cookie Crush when it buzzed with a text from Weiss.

 **W_Schnee:** _Enjoying the show? ;-)_

Ruby stifled a giggle as she replied back.

 **RlyRlyKoolKid:** i _thought ur dad sold dust not fertilizer?! this guy is FULL OF IT!_

Ruby barely had to wait before Weiss replied.

 **W_Schnee:** _You are too cute sometimes. Just watch. The best has yet to come!_

"Heh, I kinda doubt that..." Ruby said quietly to herself, sliding the scroll back into her messenger bag that doubled as a purse.

"...AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, PLEASE WELCOME MY DAUGHTER...WEISS SCHNEE!"

The lights immediately blinked back on, hurting Ruby's silver eyes. When her vision came back into focus, the screen had risen back up the ceiling and Weiss was now behind the podium in the pants suit she had produced from her wardrobe earlier. The room exploded with a standing ovation, Weiss blushing ever so slightly and motioning for the crowd to quiet down.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman. If I had known I would have had such a receptive audience, I would have sung first," she said with a smile. The audience politely laughed at this banter, but Ruby knew Weiss long enough to see something in her eyes that put the RWBY team leader at unease. It wasn't fear...or was it? It was hard to figure out, but something was boiling inside of Weiss and the fact she was being so secretive about it earlier only made it worse. "As my Father said earlier, this is the fifty year anniversary of the SDC and I am happy to be here because I have a special announcement to make. But first, I would like to introduce you to someone. Ruby? Would you please come here?"

Ruby's eyes flew open to the size of two dinner plates, as she was not expecting this in the slightest.

 _'Me?_ ' she mouthed silently, pointing at her chest.

' _Yes, you!_ ' Weiss mouthed back. Stunned and in shock, Ruby gingerly left her seat and went up the side stairs to the podium on stage. The crowd was silent, except for a few nervous coughs from the dim blackness of the crowd. The stage lights were bright and hot and made Ruby glad she had doubled up on her usual deodorant this morning.

"Please, stand right here next to me," Weiss said flatly before turning back to the crowd. "Before I explain why I brought her up here, I wanted to say a quick word about the SDC. The SDC my grandfather built, the one he invested his lien, his blood, his sweat, his tears, his life into...is gone. Jacques Schnee has perverted the name 'Schnee' and took what was once a respectable company and has run it into the ground with horrible business tactics, including, but not limited to Faunus forced labor camps, price gouging, tax evasion and more. Because of this, I can no longer associate myself with such unbelievable levels of corruption. I am hereby forsaking my title as an heiress."

Ruby's mouth went slack, her eyes shocked and glassy as a direct result of this announcement. Being a Schnee was Weiss pride, it was practically her whole identity and now she was just going to throw it away?! Was she crazy?! Was she bit by a diseased beowulf and now had Mad Grimm disease?! It was so unlike her.

"Weiss...are you sure?" Ruby whispered, her voice low enough so the house microphone didn't pick it up. Weiss merely held up her finger to silence Ruby and cleared her throat to quiet the shouted questions from the press in the audience.

"Now I wish to introduce to you my girlfriend, the love of my life, Ruby Rose. Ruby...I owe you so much. You've taught me how to let go and enjoy life, how to laugh, how to be me and not this version that is expected of me. You make my heart sing and I love you so much."

Ruby dot exe has stopped working.

"And...well, I have something important I want to ask you..."

Time slowed down to a crawl for Ruby, as if someone had a galactic remote control and set things to slow motion. She watched as Weiss, blushing an adorable shade of pink, dropped down to one knee and reached into her pants pocket. She watched as her girlfriend, the former heiress of the SDC produced a small black box and she watched as the box was opened in front of her and inside was a small white gold ring.

"Ruby Rose, would you do the honor of marrying me?"

Ruby's jaw dropped and her tongue was tied in knots. She couldn't hear any of the crowd, just a faint buzzing sound that echoed in her brain like it was hooked to a dying speaker. The ring looked so small that for a brief moment, she wondered if it would fit. Her vision was getting blurry before she realized her eyes were welling up with tears.

"...yes..." Ruby said in a throaty whisper.

"...I'm sorry?" Weiss asked, legitimately unable to hear Ruby over the ruckus from the crowd.

"YES, you amazing, fantastic woman!" Ruby squealed, lunging down and tackling Weiss to the floor. Her arms on either side of Weiss' head, the two lovers shared a passionate kiss to the snapping of flash photography. At that point, they were the only two people in all of Remnant and they couldn't be happier. The (former) heiress and her dolt.

* * *

From his private room above the balcony, Jacques Schnee was furious. In less than ten minutes he had been completely humiliated and had his company defiled and slandered!

"Cut the signal!" he ordered into his Scroll, but there was no reply from the camera crew. Heaving his device across the room in a fit of rage, he watched with no satisfaction as it shattered into dozens of pieces. He swung open the door to his private room, only to be blocked by two Atlesian Knight-200s. "What is the meaning of this? Move at once!" he barked and attempted to pass between the two androids, only for them to block his path.

"UNAUTHORIZED" one of them ordered in an artificial monotone screech. What little patience Jacques had left was quickly deteriorating.

"Do you know who I am, you worthless scrap heap?! I am Jacques Schnee! Who ordered you to stand here?!"

"I did, Father," said Winter, stepping out from around the corner. "I had ordered them to guard your room and to not allow anyone in or out unless given clearance by me." Jacques blustered with blind rage, his balled up fists shaking with grotesque anger.

"H-how could you!? After all I have done for you and your sister! I am betrayed by my own seed!" he bellowed. Winter shook her head in disappointment.

"We are not your _seed,_ Father. We are your children! We are not pawns in your games, we are not props for you to use at free will. If you had bothered to realize this, bothered to love us, you would be happy for Weiss right now. But no, you are blinded by your own arrogance and greed and now you are going to lose another daughter, just like you lost me."

Jacques took a deep breath to attempt to calm himself down, not wanting to do something the Knights might consider a threat to their commander.

"If this is your idea of teaching me a lesson, you are sorely mistaken. Did you forget that I pay for her tuition at Beacon? One phone call to my accountant and she can wave goodbye to her annoying _partner_ and everyone else at that waste of resources." he sneered, his words dripping like venom. Weiss merely smirked.

"Oh Madison?" she yelled, getting the assistant's attention from inside the room. "Do be a good assistant and please pull up the SDC website to see the latest announcement."

Confused, Madison pulled out her Scroll and brought up the SDC's corporate information page and gasped loudly at what she saw.

"S-sir, um, you're not going to like this..." she stammered.

"What? Show me at once!" Jacques demanded, ripping the phone from Madison's hands. His eyes glanced over the press released, his brow furrowing and his teeth clenching so hard that Winter thought it was a miracle the enamel didn't crack. "How...how did you do this?" he demanded, his voice booming with a quiet rage.

"It was easy. I'll spare you the technical details, but Atlesian Military cybersecurity is top notch. I typed up the press release announcing how thrilled you are that your daughter is engaged and that not only will you continue to pay for her education in full, but you will also pay every last expense for her wedding, no matter what she wants. Of course, you could always deny that was you, but that would give you even more bad press, wouldn't it? And we all know how much you hate bad press."

Jacques' shoulders slumped. He was defeated. Broken and bitter, he merely turned his back on Winter and calmly walked back into the private suite, locking the door behind him.

"Monitor him for another two hours," she ordered the droids. "After which, report back to the cargo ship for reassignment."

'AFFIRMATIVE.' both droids replied. Winter smiled as she casually walked away, her hands folded neatly behind her back. Maybe having Ruby Rose as a sister-in-law wouldn't be so bad after all...

* * *

 **EPILOGUE**

"So...that was a thing..." Yang said in utter disbelief. Right before Weiss had taken the stage, she had texted Yang to ask her to bring the rest of RWBY, as well as JNPR, into the common room to see the press event on television. No reason was given, but Yang did so out of curiosity.

"I can't believe it..." Blake said, just as stunned. "I had no idea this was being planned."

"You had no idea?!" Yang snorted. "I'm her sister and I had no idea. My lil' sis is getting married!"

"So you know what this means, right?" Nora said, barely able to restrain her excitement. She was bouncing up and down like an engine piston, squealing with delight at what she had just witnessed. "Bachelorette party for both ladies! I better reserve the strippers now! Do they make pancake thongs? Guess I'll find out!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" Yang countered. "If anyone is planning a bachelorette party for Rubes, it's me! Big Sisters call first dibs."

"Uh, no?" Nora shot back. "No one wants to go a bachelorette party thrown by their sister. That's like taking your sister to prom!"

"Hey, I told you that in confidence! And I only did it because her date stood her up the night before!" Jaune yelled.


End file.
